Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world shrank to $114 million in July, the smallest since a surplus in December 2016, as its trade surplus with the United States grew to the biggest in a decade, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.

The federal agency reported that merchandise exports to the United States rose 3.3 per cent in July to $38.4 billion, while imports of American goods edged down 0.1 per cent to $33.1 billion in July.

As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the United States widened to $5.3 billion in July, from $4.1 billion in June — the biggest monthly trade surplus with its largest trading partner since October 2008.

Canada's surplus with the United States was offset by a $5.5 billion trade deficit with other countries, up from $4.8 billion in June...

This was excerpted from 5 September 2018 edition of the CBC News.