The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that U.S. the goods and services trade deficit widened to $63.6 billion in July from a revised $53.5 billion in the previous month (originally a gap of $50.7 billion). That was the highest trade gap since July of 2008.

Economists had expected a deficit of $58.0 billion.

According to the report, the July increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $9.3 billion to $80.9 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $0.8 billion to $17.4 billion.

In July, exports of goods and services from the U.S. climbed 8.1 percent m-o-m to $168.1 billion, while imports surged 10.9 percent m-o-m to $231.7 billion, in part, due to the impact of COVID-19, as many businesses continued to operate at limited capacity or ceased operations completely, and the movement of travelers across borders remained restricted.

Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit declined 1.8 percent from the same period in 2019. Exports plunged 17.5 percent, while imports tumbled 13.8 percent.