By 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 in September 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 in September after falling by 0.8 percent to $314.1 billion in August.
The spike in the value of imports partly reflected sharp increases in imports of cell phones and other household goods, passenger cars, capital goods and crude oil.
Meanwhile, the report said the value of exports shot up by 2.2 percent to $261.1 billion in September after jumping by 1.4 percent to $255.4 billion in August.
Exports of industrial supplies and materials and foods, feeds, and beverages saw notable growth during the month.
The Commerce Department also said the goods deficit widened to $86.3 billion in September from $84.6 billion in August, while the services surplus narrowed to $24.8 billion from $25.9 billion.
