Canada's merchandise trade deficit totalled $2.7 billion in February, widening from a $1.9 billion deficit in January. Imports rose 1.9%, mainly due to higher imports of energy products. Exports increased 0.4%, primarily on higher exports of passenger cars and light trucks.
In real (or in volume) terms, imports rose 1.9% and exports were up 0.6%.
Energy products lead the increase in imports
Following a 4.3% decline in January, total imports were up 1.9% in February to $48.6 billion, with increases in 8 of 11 sections. Higher imports of energy products and of motor vehicles and parts were partially offset by lower imports of gold. Year over year, total imports increased 3.5%.
Imports of energy products rose 15.4% to $3.4 billion in February, the highest level since November 2014. Imports of crude oil and crude bitumen were also up 15.4%, with a larger share coming from the United States. Imports of refined petroleum energy products (+24.1%) also increased, in part due to higher imports of motor gasoline entering British Columbia. For the section as a whole, volumes rose 14.5%, and prices were up 0.8%.
Following atypical plant shutdowns in January, imports of motor vehicles and parts partially rebounded in February, up 1.7% to $9.4 billion, on higher imports of motor vehicle engines and motor vehicle parts.
Partially offsetting the overall increase were lower imports of gold, which contributed to decreases in the metal ores and non-metallic minerals (-11.9%) and in the metal and non-metallic mineral products (-3.0%) sections. Disruptions in gold mining activity, particularly in Argentina and the Dominican Republic, led to lower imports of both gold bullion and unwrought gold in February.
This has been excerpted from a 5 April 2018 release by Statistics Canada.