The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in May, rising 18.7% to $71.5 billion from a revised $60.3 billion in April, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday. The gap exceeded most economists’ forecasts and marked the first expansion in two months. Exports fell 4.0% to $279.0 billion, led by a $10 billion drop in industrial supplies such as non-monetary gold and natural gas and by lower shipments of semiconductors and aircraft engines. Imports edged down 0.1% to $350.5 billion as weaker purchases of consumer goods, including apparel and toys, offset higher inflows of autos and pharmaceuticals. Within the headline figure, the goods deficit widened 13% to $97.5 billion while the surplus in services narrowed slightly to $26.0 billion. Through the first five months of 2025, the overall trade gap has grown 50.4% from the same period a year earlier. Economists noted that softer imports could allow trade to add to second-quarter growth after subtracting a record 4.61 percentage points from gross domestic product in the first quarter. However, President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime—due for another review on July 9—continues to distort supply chains and complicate the outlook for exporters and importers alike.