Canada’s merchandise trade balance shifted to a surplus in August, helped by strong growth in exports of unwrought gold and crude oil, Statistics Canada said.
The agency said Thursday that Canada posted a trade surplus of $718 million in August compared with a revised deficit of $437 million in July.
BMO economist Shelly Kaushik said it was the first surplus since April.
“Energy prices propelled a modest surplus in Canada’s merchandise trade account,” Kaushik wrote in a report.
“But stronger-than-expected volumes suggest merchandise trade could add to third-quarter growth. Even so, the economy is expected to slow meaningfully in the second half of the year.”
The merchandise trade surplus came as total exports rose 5.7% to $64.6 billion.
Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products rose 29.1% in August to a record $8.5 billion, boosted by exports of gold to the United States. Meanwhile, higher prices helped lift energy product exports 14.6% to $14.5 billion.
Total imports increased 3.8% in August to $63.8 billion as imports of industrial machinery, equipment and parts rose 7.5% to $7.8 billion in the month.
In volume terms, exports rose 3% in August compared with July, while imports gained 1.2%.
Statistics Canada said the country’s trade deficit with countries other than the United States was $9.7 billion in August compared with $8.6 billion in July as exports to countries other than the United States rose 7.7%, but imports gained 9.8%.
Canada’s trade surplus with the United States increased to $10.4 billion compared with $8.2 billion in July as exports to the United States rose 5.2% and imports gained 0.6%.
In a separate release, Statistics Canada says the country’s international trade in services deficit increased to $1.5 billion in August compared with $1.2 billion in July as service exports fell 0.7% to $15.0 billion and service imports rose 0.7% to $16.4 billion.
When the country’s international trade in goods and services are combined, Canada’s trade deficit with the world was $743 million in August compared with $1.7 billion in July.