Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the rest of the world nearly vanished in June as exports grew dramatically, Statistics Canada reported today.

The trade deficit came in at $476 million...

Exports increased 6.3 per cent to $44.3 billion in June, while imports dropped 0.6 per cent to $45.1 billion. That's the best month-over-month increase in exports since December 2006.

The falling Canadian dollar, which has lost about 10 cents against the U.S. currency since the start of the year, finally appears to be giving a boost to Canadian companies that ship to American markets. Exports to the United States surged by 7.1 per cent in June...

David Madani, from Capital Economics, called the trade report a "positive sign" for the economy, but said "it remains to be seen whether the export sector can lift the economy out of its oil-related slump."..

The Canadian dollar got an immediate boost once the trade numbers were released. The loonie was trading at 76.21 cents US at 9 a.m. ET, up a third of a cent from Tuesday's close. It had hit an 11-year low on Tuesday...

This has been excerpted from the 5 August 2015 article by CBC News.