Washington, Sep 11 (Xinhua) The US trade deficit rose by 16.3 percent to $32 billion in July, the highest level in six months, the commerce department said Thursday.

The deficit was much higher than the $27.4 billion expected by economists.

The higher trade deficit came as the global recession cut sharply into sales of American exports, while crude oil prices hit the highest level since December.

For July, exports of goods and services rose by 2.2 percent to $127.6 billion but imports shot up 4.7 percent to $159.6 billion, the largest monthly advance since 1992.

US oil imports rose by 3.6 percent to $23.7 billion, the highest since December.

Economists expect the trade deficit to shrink significantly this year, as the recession would cut demand for imported goods.