The trade deficit in goods and services surged 18.9% in July to US$63.6 billion, the highest level since July 2008 and the deficit in June was revised to US$53.5 billion, according to data released by the US Commerce Department on September 3. Among them, the trade deficit in goods was US$80.1 billion, a record high. The services trade surplus fell for the first time in three months, to US$17.4 billion, the smallest surplus since August 2012. Data show that US imports increased by 10.9% in July from the previous month to a record US$231.7 billion and exports increased by 8.1% month-on-month to US$168.1 billion. Total US imports and exports increased to US$399.8 billion, still far below the level before the outbreak of COVID-19. The US trade deficit widened again in July after falling in June, suggesting that the road to recovery will be bumpy. The trade volume is higher than the low point during the epidemic in May, but remains sluggish after the economy restarted and showed an initial rise. The data also showed the US trade deficit in goods with Mexico hit a record high of US$10.6 billion in July, while the deficit in goods with China increased by 11.5% to US$31.6 billion. These figures show the novel coronavirus pandemic has had and will continue to have an impact on the world's largest economy, said TD Bank economist Sohaib Shahid.