By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply by 18.8% in June to $49.9 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. This is the largest trade gap since October 2008 when global trade activity froze in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The trade deficit was much larger than the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists of a deficit of $42.5 billion. Imports rose while exports declined in June. The U.S. trade deficit with China widened to $26.2 billion in compared with $18.4 billion in the same month last year. This is the largest trade gap with China since October 2008.
