The US trade deficit widened to a record $74.4 billion in March from $70.5 billion in February, Commerce Department data showed Wednesday, AP reported. The US trade deficit grew 57.6 per cent in March from a year earlier and 5.6 per cent from the previous month.

Imports of goods and services to the United States rose 6.3 percent to $274.5 billion in March, the data showed. Specifically, the largest increase in March imports was for consumer goods, up $4.5 billion; Imports of industrial supplies and materials increased by $3.7 billion; Capital goods increased by $3.3 billion.

U.S. exports rose 6.6 percent to a one-year high of $200 billion in March. Specifically, exports of industrial supplies and materials and capital and consumer goods rose the most in March. The outbreak continues to be a drag on U.S. trade in services, particularly tourism. The surplus in services was $17.1 billion in March, the smallest since August 2012.

Exports fell by $21 billion in March 2021 compared with the same period last year, while imports rose by $62.2 billion.

The data also showed that the US trade deficit in the first three months of the year was almost 10 per cent higher than a year earlier. Imports rose 8.5 per cent, while exports fell 3.5 per cent.

CNBC cited experts as saying that the trade deficit grew mainly because of strong demand from U.S. consumers. The cash handout from the US government has increased consumption power, while the COVID-19 outbreak has led to a shift in consumption from domestic services to goods, most of which are imported. Experts also said that as the epidemic situation in the United States continues to improve and prevention measures are further relaxed, people's consumption choices will gradually shift from commodity consumption to domestic services such as catering and entertainment.

The analysis points to a year of pent-up consumer demand that has been released as the epidemic in the United States has improved with the help of mass vaccination. In the coming months, as the economy continues to recover, "retaliatory consumption" will ease and the large trade deficit may ease.

Data released by the US Department of Commerce previously showed that due to the epidemic, the US trade deficit in 2020 reached US $678.7 billion, an increase of 17.7% over 2019 and a new high since the 2008 international financial crisis.

Data show that the US export volume in 2020 decreased by 396.4 billion US dollars to 2.1319 trillion US dollars compared with the previous year, a decline of 15.7%. Imports fell by $294.5 billion, or 9.5%, to $2.8106 trillion from a year earlier. The U.S. trade deficit was 3.2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product last year, up from 2.7 percent in 2019.