The needle barely moved on Canada's trade balance with the rest of the world during May.
Figures released Wednesday morning by Statistics Canada show Canada’s exports fell 0.7% to $41.1 billion in May. Export volumes declined 2.3% and prices were up 1.6%. Imports decreased 0.8% to $44.4 billion, as volumes were down 0.9% and prices edged up 0.2%.
As a result, the agency concludes, Canada’s merchandise trade deficit with the world in May was virtually unchanged from April at $3.3 billion.
Canada’s exports of energy products increased 7.1% to $5.3 billion in May. For the section as a whole, prices were up 9.7%, while volumes were down 2.3%. Imports of energy products increased 18.2% to $2.1 billion in May, the third consecutive monthly gain.
The nation's number crunchers also said exports to the United States were up 3.6% to $32.1 billion and imports were down 1.1% to $29.3 billion. As a result, Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S. rebounded from a low of $1.3 billion in April to $2.8 billion in May.
Exports to countries other than the United States decreased 13.6% to $9.1 billion in May. There were lower exports to the United Kingdom (-$723 million), to countries other than Canada’s principal trading partners (-$164 million) and to China (-$160 million). Imports from countries other than the United States edged down 0.1% to $15.1 billion in May.
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