The U.S. current account deficit widened more than anticipated in the first quarter, driven by a larger deficit in the primary income balance, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said the current account deficit, which is a measure of the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the United States, rose by $5.8 billion, or 2.6 percent, to $226.8 billion during the first quarter.
Primary income balance posts $13.3 billion deficit
Data for the fourth quarter was revised to show a current account deficit of $221.1 billion, significantly higher than the previously reported $190.7 billion.
In the first quarter, the deficit amounted to 2.9 percent of gross domestic product, up from 2.8 percent in the final three months of 2025. It remains well below the record 6.3 percent reached in the third quarter of 2006. The deficit is not considered a major factor for the U.S. dollar, given the greenback’s role as the world’s primary reserve currency.
Meanwhile, the primary income balance swung into a deficit of $13.3 billion in the first quarter, down from a surplus of $3.431 billion in the previous quarter. This was partly offset by a narrowing in the trade deficit, which fell to $165.8 billion from $177.3 billion in the October-December period.
U.S. continues to post negative net international investment position
The U.S. current account deficit data also revealed that the primary income receipts declined to $396.1 billion in the first quarter from $402.2 billion in the previous three months, while primary income payments surged to a record $409.1 billion from $398.8 billion in the fourth quarter.
The report also showed that capital-transfer receipts rose by $3.3 billion to $3.4 billion during the quarter, while payments decreased by $0.9 billion to $2.0 billion.
Meanwhile, the United States continued to post a negative net international investment position, reflecting the gap between the foreign financial assets held by U.S. residents and their liabilities to overseas investors.
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