Washington, D.C. ? Helped by lower oil prices, the U.S. trade deficit improved in September after hitting an all-time high. The imbalance with China, however, soared to a record as retailers stocked their shelves for Christmas.

The overall deficit declined 6.8 percent to $64.3 billion in September from a record $69 billion in August, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

The drop of $4.7 billion was better than expected and represented the biggest one-month decrease in more than five years.

The improvement came from a 10.5 percent fall in America’s foreign oil bill, which dropped to $26.3 billion. The volume of imports fell and crude oil prices had a big decline. They now are about $60 per barrel after hitting $77 per barrel in the summer.