WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit jumped to a new record in March. This confirms that trade weighed heavily on the economy during the first quarter. Businesses will likely replenish their inventories with import goods for the foreseeable future.

According to the Commerce Department, Wednesday’s increase in imports was reflected in a 22.3% rise in trade deficit. Reuters polled economists to forecast a $107 trillion deficit.

Last week, the government announced that the record-breaking trade deficit cut 3.20 percentage points off gross domestic product. This resulted in GDP shrinking by 1.4% annually after rising at 6.9% in the fourth quarter.

Seven consecutive quarters have seen trade decline from GDP. The 10.3% increase in imports of services and goods was greater than the 5.6% growth in exports, which rose to $241.7 million.