U.S. Trade Deficit Widens More Than Expected In September

A report released by the Commerce Department on Monday showed the U.S. trade deficit widened by more than expected in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit increased to $61.5 billion from a revised $58.7 billion in August.

Economists had expected the trade deficit to climb to $60.2 billion from the $58.3 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The wider than expected deficit came as the value of imports surged by 2.7 percent to $322.7 billion, while the value of exports jumped by 2.2 percent to $261.1 billion.