OTTAWA — Canada's merchandise trade surplus fell to $422 million in February as exports fell more than imports.
Statistics Canada said Wednesday the result compared with a revised surplus of $1.2 billion for January. The initial reading for the first month of the year put the surplus at $1.9 billion.
"While real trade flows were better than the headlines suggested, they are consistent with a slowdown in activity for February," BMO Capital Markets economist Shelly Kaushik wrote in a report.
"Barring big downward revisions, trade looks to support GDP growth in Q1, though we expect momentum to fade in the coming quarters."
For February, total exports fell 2.4 per cent to $65.0 billion as exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products decreased 5.4 per cent and motor vehicles and parts dropped 4.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, total imports fell 1.3 per cent to $64.6 billion in February. The drop came as imports of industrial machinery, equipment and parts fell 8.7 per cent after hitting a record high in January.
Imports of motor vehicles and parts lost 5.3 per cent in February, while consumer goods rose 6.9 per cent to partly offset the overall drop.
In volume terms, total exports in February fell 0.9 per cent, while imports fell 0.8 per cent.
Regionally, exports to countries other than the U.S. fell 7.2 per cent, while imports from countries other than the U.S. rose 1.3 per cent to bring Canada's merchandise trade deficit with countries other than the U.S. to $8.9 billion in February compared with $7.4 billion in January.
Meanwhile, exports to the United States fell 0.9 per cent, while imports fell 2.8 per cent, as Canada's trade surplus with the United States grew to $9.2 billion in February from $8.6 billion in January.
In a separate report, Statistics Canada said the country's international trade in services deficit rose to $2.2 billion in February compared with $2.0 billion in January as exports of services fell 1.3 per cent to $14.0 billion and imports rose 0.4 per cent to $16.2 billion.
When international trade in goods and services were combined, Canada's trade deficit with the world rose to $1.8 billion in February from $766 million in January.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2023.
The Canadian Press
