May 9, 2019

Canadian trade deficit narrowed to $3.2 billion in March

Statistics Canada announced that the country's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $3.4 billion in February to $3.2 billion in March.

The Federal agency says total exports rose 3.2% to $49.0 billion. Exports of energy products rose 7.7% to $9.6 billion and exports of motor vehicles and parts were up 5.6%

Total imports rose 2.5% in March to $52.3 billion. Imports of consumer goods increased 6.7% to a record $10.9 billion. Imports of motor vehicles and parts rose 4.9% to $9.9 billion. Partially offsetting the overall gain in March, imports of aircraft fell 50.7% due to a slowdown in deliveries of airliners from the United States.

On a per country perspective, Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States widened from $6.4 billion in February to a record $6.8 billion in March.

Exports to those countries rose 8.8% in March to $12.7 billion. Higher exports to the United Kingdom (gold), the Netherlands (aluminium and crude oil), Germany (aircraft and crude oil) and Saudi Arabia (other transportation equipment) were partially offset by lower exports to Hong Kong (gold). After declining 6.7% in February, imports from countries other than the United States rose 8.0% to $19.5 billion. The increase was led by higher imports from China (computers and peripherals) and Mexico (cars and trucks).

Exports to the United States were up 1.3% to $36.4 billion in March, mainly on higher exports of motor vehicles and crude oil. Imports from the United States edged down 0.4%, primarily on lower imports of aircraft.

As a result, Canada's trade surplus with the United States widened from $3.0 billion in February to $3.6 billion in March.