The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that U.S. the goods and services trade deficit widened to $74.4 billion in March from a revised $70.5 billion in the previous month (originally a gap of $71.1 billion). This was the biggest trade deficit on record.

Economists had expected a deficit of $74.5 billion.

According to the report, the March increase in the goods and services reflected an advance in the goods deficit of $3.6 billion to $91.6 billion and a decline in the services surplus of $0.3 billion to $17.1 billion.

In March, exports of goods and services from the U.S. climbed 6.6 percent m-o-m to $200.0 billion, while imports jumped 6.3 percent m-o-m to $274.5 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 64.2 percent from the same period in 2020. Exports fell 3.5 percent, while imports surged 8.5 percent.