A drop in merchandise exports for the first time in nine months pushed Canada’s trade surplus with the rest of the world lower in November, Statistics Canada said today.

The surplus fell to $6.9 billion, down from $7.2 billion in October.

StatsCan said falling exports of natural gas were the key factor for the decline, dropping 18.5% to $3.7 billion.

It said much of the decline can be attributed to U.S. natural gas production coming back online after back-to-back hurricanes in the Gulf Coast.

Statistics Canada said if energy products were excluded, exports would have risen slightly as shipments of automobiles and metals rose during November.

Overall, exports slipped 2% to $39.7 billion from the record-high revised level of $40.5 billion in October.

Canada’s merchandise imports, which stood at a record-high $32.9 billion in October, edged down 0.1% to $32.8 billion.