The U.S. trade deficit continued to widen in August as imports outpaced exports, the Department of Commerce reported.

The goods and services deficit grew to $53.24 billion from the revised $50.04 billion in July. Econoday had forecast that the trade gap would tick up to $53.7 billion.

Exports declined to $209.43 billion from $211.10 billion, while imports rose to $262.67 billion from $261.14 billion. Exports of soybeans, one of the targets of China's retaliatory tariffs, declined to $2.58 billion from $3.60 billion.

The U.S. trade gap with China rose to $34.42 billion from $34.14 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis. The deficit with the EU widened to $14.87 billion from $14.52 billion, while that with Canada narrowed to $2.96 billion from the revised $3.27 billion.

Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $31.0 billion, or 8.6%, from the same period in 2017.