Canada’s trade surplus rose in February to $6.31 billion as a decline in the country’s imports surpassed a drop in exports, Statistics Canada said today.

The January trade surplus came in at $6.16 billion.

Exports fell by 3.5% to $38.3 billion in February as exports of passenger vehicles dropped 12.7% to $4 billion.

Production slowdowns in January and weakening auto sales in the United States pushed values down for the month, reversing a trend that began in mid-2005, StatsCan said.

Exports of lumber, aircraft parts and engines, and energy products also all declined in February.

Meanwhile, Canadian imports fell 4.6% to $32 billion. Imports of metals and metal ores, chemicals, trucks, and industrial and agricultural machinery moderated following a surge in December and January.

In the United States, the February trade deficit came in at US$65.7 billion, an improvement from January’s US$68.7 billion figure.

Despite the improvement, however, the February deficit was still the third highest on record.

Part of the improvement in the U.S. trade picture showed up in the country’s trade with China. The American deficit with China dropped by 22.7% to US$13.8 billion, hitting its lowest mark since March 2005.

U.S. exports to China rose by almost 20% to US$4.1 billion on large gains in exports of cotton, soybeans and semiconductors.