Oil boom trims U.S. trade deficit as AI imports surge
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- Trade gap narrowed as record oil exports, buoyed by Hormuz closure and high prices, offset rising imports; exports up 2.6%, deficit to $55.9 billion in April.
- AI/data center build-out drives 83% annual jump in imports of computers, chips and telecom gear, as firms race to stockpile ahead of fresh Trump tariffs and war-driven price shocks.
- Trade report reshapes talks over the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, with the U.S. goods gap narrowing with Mexico and China but widening with Canada and Vietnam amid shifting supply chains.
The trade deficit narrowed in April as a surge in oil exports helped offset ongoing increases in imports of equipment powering the data center build-out.
The gap in goods and services trade shrank 1.2% from the prior month to $55.9 billion, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $56.1-billion deficit.
The value of exports rose 2.6% in April from the prior month, driven by a 60% increase in crude oil alongside advances in fuel oil and other petroleum products. Imports advanced 2%, led by computers and semiconductors.
The Iran war and what is in effect the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have stifled the flow of oil in the region, driving up prices. U.S. producers have tried to pick up the slack. In April, the U.S. exported a record volume of oil, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data, while shipments of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel also surged.
The windfall to U.S. producers from higher oil prices has helped offset an ongoing surge in imports of capital goods tied to the build-out of data centers in the U.S. Imports of computers, computer accessories, telecommunications equipment and semiconductors were up 83% in April from a year earlier.
The war has added to a pattern of volatile swings in monthly trade following ever-changing tariff announcements from President Trump throughout much of 2025. Many of the levies were struck down by the Supreme Court in February, but the Trump administration has since proposed new tariffs of at least 10% on imports from 60 trading partners.
Recent surveys of purchasing managers have suggested that U.S. companies are stockpiling merchandise in an effort to get ahead of additional war-related price hikes, echoing a rush last year to bring in imports ahead of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
“April’s import growth was concentrated in AI-related products, signifying that the AI build-out is alive and well,” said Troy Durie of Bloomberg Economics. “Exports grew amid a surge in shipments of petroleum products to fill the global supply shortage with the Strait of Hormuz closed. Strong export demand is increasing cash flows for energy producers, which could lead to increased capital spending and future oil production.”
The report will also help inform upcoming negotiations surrounding the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which are set to blow past a July 1 deadline for extension. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Mexico narrowed as exports to that country rose to a record. The shortfall with Canada grew.
Meanwhile, the goods trade deficit with China narrowed. The shortfall with Vietnam — a major beneficiary of supply-chain shifts since trade tensions between the U.S. and China erupted in Trump’s first term — widened.
Travel exports — or spending by foreign visitors in the U.S. — fell in April to the lowest level in more than two years, helping drag down overall services exports.
On an inflation-adjusted basis, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $84.3 billion in April. Tuesday’s report also included annual revisions to the statistics.
Niquette writes for Bloomberg.
