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The U.S. merchandise-trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in July to a three-month low as exports picked up and imports declined.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit rose to a five-month high in May as the politically sensitive imbalances with China and Mexico widened. The Commerce Department said July 3 that the gap between the goods and services the U.S. sells and what it buys from foreign countries rose 8.4% to $55.5 billion in May.

The U.S. merchandise-trade deficit widened in May to a five-month high amid a surge in imports after President Donald Trump’s decision to increase levies on $200 billion of items from China.

America’s merchandise trade deficit widened in March for the first time in three months as an increase in imports exceeded the rise in exports.

The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed to an eight-month low in February on a surge in civilian aircraft exports, which may come under pressure after the grounding of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max planes.

The U.S. trade deficit widened in 2018 to a 10-year high of $621 billion, bucking President Donald Trump’s pledges to reduce it, as tax cuts boosted domestic demand for imports while the strong dollar and retaliatory tariffs weighed on exports.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in November by more than forecast to a five-month low, as imports tumbled by the most in more than two years amid an intensifying trade war.

TOKYO — Japan’s exports fell 3.8% in December from a year earlier, hit by slowing demand in China, as the trade balance shifted back into deficit for the year, the Japanese government reported Jan. 23.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit widened for the second straight month in July, reaching the highest level since February, as imports hit an all-time high. The deficit in goods with China and the European Union set records.