Bloomberg survey estimates ranged from a trade deficit of $39 billion to $44 billion. Purchases of consumer goods climbed by $1.87 billion, paced by pharmaceuticals and mobile phones.
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The report said the trade deficit widened to $44.5 billion in June from a revised $41.0 billion in May.
Imports of goods and services increased 1.9 per cent to US$227.7 billion in June, with oil prices accounting for part of the rise.
The uptick in the value of exports was partly due to a $1.1 billion jump in exports of civilian aircraft. Meanwhile, the surplus on services rose to Euro 0.9 billion from Euro 0.7 billion. June exports were up $0.6 billion from May, and June imports were up $4.2 billion.
“Trade will remain a weak spot for the economy the rest of the year”, Gus Faucher, deputy chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc.in Pittsburgh, said before the report. The lower deficit reflects the fact that while USA exports are down, the value of imports is down by a larger amount, reflecting the drop in oil prices.
Overall exports were lifted by a 7.2 increase for energy products as prices for crude oil and bitumen rose.
U.S. officials have routinely accused China of manipulating its currency and taking other actions to boost exports at the expense of the United States.
The trade gap with China advanced to $29.8 billion and hit the highest level since last November.
The financial account showed a deficit of Euro 7.3 billion compared to a Euro 12.6 billion surplus a month ago.
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After eliminating the influence of prices, which renders the numbers used to calculate gross domestic product, the trade deficit jumped to a more than one-year high of $64.7 billion from $60.9 billion.
