The U.S. trade deficit widened 1.8 percent in August to its third-highest level on record as oil import prices hit a new high and imports of textiles and other goods from China also set a record, the government said on Thursday.The August trade gap totaled $59.0 billion, just below a median $59.5 billion estimated by economists before the Commerce Department report. Record imports of $167.2 billion easily overwhelmed record exports of $108.2 billion. The slightly lower-than-expected deficit pushed the dollar higher in early trading after the report. "But what's more interesting is the U.S.-China deficit, especially with what's going on in Beijing just now," said Rebecca Patterson, currency strategist with JP Morgan in New York. "It's going to put a lot of pressure on the U.S. to get China to move (further on yuan flexibility), and to the extent that they don't, that's going to raise protectionist rhetric in Congress, which I think is ultimately dollar-negative." U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow in is China for meetings this weekend with finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 rich and emerging-market countries. Snow, who is expected to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao, has been vocal about the need for China to move to a more flexible exchange rate policy for the yuan. Meanwhile, a second U.S. report showed the number of Americans filing new jobless claims dipped 2,000 last week, much less than Wall Street analysts had expected in the aftermath of Gulf Coast hurricanes. First-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 389,000 in the week ended October 8 from a slightly revised 391,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said. Economists had expected new claims to fall to 360,000 from the original October 1 week reading of 390,000, a total swollen by hurricane-related claims. The trade report showed oil import prices increased for the third consecutive month to a record $52.65 per barrel, lifting imports from OPEC countries to a record $11.9 billion. Overall crude oil imports were $17.2 billion in August, also a record. Surging oil and natural gas pushed overall import prices up 2.3 percent in September, the largest advance in nearly 15 years and more than twice expectations, a third report showed. Petroleum import prices jumped 7.3 percent, hitting a record level for the fourth straight month, while nonpetroleum import costs rose by a record 1.2 percent, the Labor Department said. Stripping out petroleum and natural gas, import prices rose a much smaller 0.4 percent. The Commerce Department's trade report showed little initial impact from Hurricane Katrina, which forced the temporary closure of the Port of New Orleans after it hit on August 29. The Commerce Department will publish preliminary September trade data on October 21 for Gulf ports. U.S. imports increased 1.8 percent in August, as U.S. economic growth continued to outpace that of other major developed countries. Key import categories such as industrial supplies and materials, autos and auto parts and capital goods all showed gains. Imports from China were a record $22.4 billion, aided by a 3.1 percent jump in textile and clothing shipments. Imports of those products rose more than 53 percent in the first eight months of 2005 from the same period a year earlier. This follows the end of global textile quotas on January 1. U.S. trade officials are in Beijing trying to negotiate an agreement that would stem the flow of clothing imports. The United States ran record trade deficits with China, the European Union, OPEC and South and Central American countries in August. Meanwhile, U.S. labor, farm and manufacturers groups have set a news conference on Thursday to push for tougher U.S. action to curb the growing trade gap with China. U.S. exports jumped 1.7 percent in August, aided by a big increase in shipments of civilian aircraft. Other key categories, including autos and auto parts, also had gains