The U.S. trade deficit increased to its largest in over two years in the month of July, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to $78.8 billion in July from a revised $73.0 billion in June.
Economists had expected the trade deficit to climb to $79.0 billion from the $73.1 billion originally reported for the previous month.
While slightly narrower than expected, the trade deficit in July marked the largest gap since the deficit reached $81.2 billion in June 2022.
The increase in the size of the trade deficit came as the value of imports surged by 2.1 percent, while the value of exports rose by 0.5 percent.