The United States ran a current-account deficit of $226.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up $5.8 billion, or 2.6%, from the revised fourth-quarter 2025 deficit of $221.1 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The first-quarter deficit represented 2.9% of current-dollar gross domestic product, a slight increase from 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The BEA said the widening of the deficit reflected a shift in the balance on primary income, which moved from a surplus in the fourth quarter to a deficit in the first quarter. That shift was only partly offset by a reduced deficit on goods.
Exports of goods and services to, and income received from, foreign residents increased $50.0 billion to $1.38 trillion in the first quarter. That increase was driven by higher goods exports, though it was partially offset by a decrease in primary income receipts. On the other side of the ledger, imports of goods and services from, and income paid to, foreign residents rose $55.8 billion to $1.61 trillion, reflecting increases in both goods imports and primary income payments.
The U.S. net international investment position, which measures the difference between what American residents own abroad and what foreign residents own in the United States, stood at negative $21.27 trillion at the end of the first quarter. Assets totaled $43.37 trillion while liabilities totaled $64.64 trillion. That is an improvement from the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, when the net position was negative $21.87 trillion.
U.S. assets increased $462.9 billion in the first quarter, with gains across all major investment categories except direct investment. Financial transactions added $527.3 billion, though exchange-rate changes reduced that figure by $357.1 billion.
U.S. liabilities fell $140.4 billion in the first quarter. A decrease in portfolio investment drove that decline, though other major investment categories increased. Price changes reduced U.S. liabilities by $1.18 trillion, offset in part by $803.7 billion in financial transactions.
Net financial-account transactions totaled $209.0 billion in the first quarter, reflecting net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents. The BEA noted that the release also incorporates annual updates to its International Transactions Accounts and International Investment Position Accounts, including data from its 2022 Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States.
