The U.S. trade deficit increased to its largest in over two years in the month of July, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to $78.8 billion in July from a revised $73.0 billion in June.
Economists had expected the trade deficit to climb to $79.0 billion from the $73.1 billion originally reported for the previous month.
While slightly narrower than expected, the trade deficit in July marked the largest gap since the deficit reached $81.2 billion in June 2022.
The increase in the size of the trade deficit came as the value of imports surged by 2.1 percent, while the value of exports rose by 0.5 percent.
At 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a separate report on new orders for manufactured goods in the month of July. Factory orders are expected to spike by 4.7 percent in July after tumbling by 3.3 percent in June.
The Labor Department is also due to release its report on job openings in the month of July at 10 am ET. Job openings are expected to slip to 8.10 million in July after edging down to 8.18 million in June.
At 2 pm ET, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts.