The United States recorded a $1.45bn goods trade surplus with Nigeria in the first 10 months of 2025, reversing a deficit position from the previous year, as US exports to Nigeria surged while imports from Nigeria declined, the latest US trade data show.
Figures from the US Census Bureau indicate that between January and October 2025, the US exported goods worth $5.94bn to Nigeria and imported $4.49bn, resulting in a positive balance of $1.447bn in America’s favour.
This marked a turnaround from the same period of 2024, when the US ran a $1.367bn deficit with Nigeria.
In October 2025 alone, the US posted a $162m trade surplus with Nigeria, exporting $532m worth of goods while importing $369m This was higher than the $116m surplus recorded in September 2025, pointing to a month-on-month improvement of $46m, or nearly 40 per cent.
The October outcome was mainly shaped by falling US imports from Nigeria rather than by expanding exports.
Between September and October, US imports from Nigeria declined by $171m, or 31.7 per cent, while US exports to Nigeria fell by $124m, or 18.9 per cent. Despite weaker export volumes, the sharper drop in imports widened the US surplus.
