NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The U.S. trade gap narrowed in February, the government reported Wednesday, as the latest reading came in much smaller than forecasts.

The Commerce Department report shows imports outweighed exports by $65.7 billion, down from the revised $68.6 billion level seen in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that the trade gap would narrow to $67.5 billion. Despite the drop, it was still the third-highest gap on record.

The trade shortfall occurred even as the gap in oil imports stayed nearly unchanged at $24.6 billion. The average price of oil imports increased 3.4 percent, but consumption fell 3.9 percent.

But non-oil imports fell 3.6 percent to $125.6 billion. Consumer goods imports fell $888 million, and auto and auto parts imports were trimmed by $1.3 billion.

Exports also narrowed 1.2 percent to $113 billion after three straight months of record exports.