America's trade deficit fell to its lowest level in seven months due to strong exports and weaker U.S. demand for foreign goods, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

The trade gap shrank 2.4 percent to 57.59 billion U.S. dollars in August from the revised 59 billion dollars in the previous month, said the report.

For August, U.S. exports of goods and services rose by 0.4 percent to an all-time high of 138.34 billion dollars. Sales of farm goods, steel and chemicals all set record highs.

Imports of goods and services fell 0.4 percent to 195.92 billion dollars. The decline reflected lower shipments of foreign cars and furniture.

The advance in petroleum imports came as foreign oil prices were rising. The average price of crude oil was at 68.69 dollars per barrel in August, the highest level in history.

The U.S. trade deficit with China fell by 5.3 percent to 22.5 billion dollars in August, helped by strong exports of aircraft and soybeans.

So far this year, the trade deficit is running at an annual rate of 708 billion dollars, down from last year's all-time high of 758.5 billion dollars.

The U.S. trade imbalance has set new records for five consecutive years.

Analysts now expect the trade deficit to shrink this year as American exporters benefit from strong economic growth in many countries overseas and a weaker dollar against many currencies.

A weaker dollar makes U.S. products cheaper on foreign markets and imports from foreign markets more expensive for American consumers.