The U.S. trade deficit widened in August to the largest since 2006 as the nation imported a record amount of consumer goods amid a pickup in demand ahead of the holiday shopping season.

The U.S. trade deficit surged in July to $63.6 billion, the highest level in 12 years, as imports jumped by a record amount.

The deficit in U.S. trade of goods and services narrowed in June for the first time since February as exports jumped, though shipments remained well below pre-pandemic levels.

The U.S. trade deficit fell 1.7% last year to $616.8 billion as President Donald Trump hammered China with import taxes.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit fell in November to the lowest level in more than three years as U.S. exports rose while imports declined, putting the country on track to see the first annual decline in the trade deficit in six years.

The U.S. trade deficit fell in September to the lowest level in five months as imports dropped more sharply than exports and America ran a rare surplus in petroleum.

The U.S. merchandise-trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in July to a three-month low as exports picked up and imports declined.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit rose to a five-month high in May as the politically sensitive imbalances with China and Mexico widened. The Commerce Department said July 3 that the gap between the goods and services the U.S. sells and what it buys from foreign countries rose 8.4% to $55.5 billion in May.

The U.S. merchandise-trade deficit widened in May to a five-month high amid a surge in imports after President Donald Trump’s decision to increase levies on $200 billion of items from China.

America’s merchandise trade deficit widened in March for the first time in three months as an increase in imports exceeded the rise in exports.