The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that U.S. the goods and services trade deficit widened to $71.1 billion in February from a revised $67.8 billion in the previous month (originally a gap of $68.2 billion). This was the biggest trade deficit on record.

Economists had expected a deficit of $70.5 billion.

According to the report, the February increase in the goods and services reflected an advance in the goods deficit of $2.8 billion to $88.0 billion and a decline in the services surplus of $0.5 billion to $16.9 billion.

In February, exports of goods and services from the U.S. fell 2.6 percent m-o-m to $187.3 billion, while imports went down 0.7 percent m-o-m to $258.3 billion, as the global COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recovery continued to impact the international trade.

Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit surged 68.6 percent from the same period in 2020. Exports plunged 8.7 percent, while imports climbed 4.1 percent.