Canada’s trade surplus with the fell sharply in January as exports pulled back from record high values in December, thanks largely to falling exports of energy products.

As a result, the merchandise trade surplus narrowed from $7.7 billion in December to $6.3 billion in January, Statistics Canada reported today.

Imports remained stable at December’s record high level.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.63¢ up 0.15 of a cent.

South of the border, the U.S. trade gap widened 5.3% to US$68.51 billion during January, starting the year at a record level as Americans increased purchases of foreign cars and household goods. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims rose by 8,000 last week.

Crude-oil futures advanced 33¢ at US$60.35 a barrel in electronic trading. Prices fell Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Department said crude-oil inventories rose 6.8 million barrels last week, higher than expectations for a 1.6 million barrel build.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 rallied, gaining 2.6% in Tokyo as the Bank of Japan said it would gradually reduce the amount of cash it has been injecting into the banking system, though it kept its key interest rate at effectively 0%.

Toronto stocks lost more ground Wednesday, as oil and gas prices moved once again into negative territory.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 79.39 points, or 0.67%, to 11,737.07, its third-straight losing session. The benchmark index is off a little over 2% for the week so far.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down on the session, including the energy sector, which lost 1.15%.
The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange index lost 41.81, or 1.61%, to 2,550.34.

In New York, markets were mixed as investors absorbed energy prices, but continued to be concerned about possible interest rate hikes in light of inflationary pressures on the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 25.05 points to 11,005.74, off a session low of 10,922.73. The Nasdaq composite ticked down 0.92 point at 2,267.46. The S&P 500 climbed 2.59 points to 1,278.47.

The new NYSE Group Inc., in its first day trading as a public company, rose $15.75 to $80. The New York Stock Exchange had operated for 213 years as a member-owned exchange.