In September, Canada's merchandise exports rose 1.3%, while imports increased 0.4%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world widened from $550 million in August to $1.1 billion in September.
A large proportion of import and export transactions are completed in US dollars and must be converted to Canadian dollars to compile monthly trade statistics. When the Canadian dollar depreciates against the US dollar, converted monthly trade values in Canadian dollars are higher.
Following decreases of 3.7% in July and 2.7% in August, total exports rose 1.3% in September to reach $66.4 billion. Increases were observed in 6 of the 11 product sections. In real (or volume) terms, total exports rose 1.7% in September, while export prices were down for a fourth consecutive month.
Total imports increased 0.4% in September to reach $65.2 billion. Increases were observed in 6 of the 11 product sections. In real (or volume) terms, however, total imports fell 0.8%.
Exports to the United States fell 0.4% in September, a third consecutive monthly decline. At the same time, imports from the United States were up 0.4%. As a result, Canada's trade surplus with the United States narrowed from $10.2 billion in August to $9.8 billion in September, the lowest surplus since December 2021.
Following a decrease of 3.9% in August 2022, exports to countries other than the United States increased 7.0% in September, the strongest increase since May 2022. Exports to the United Kingdom (gold and crude oil), China (pulse crops, potash and grains) and Hong Kong (gold and crude oil) posted the largest gains.
Meanwhile, imports from countries other than the United States rose 0.5% in September. Higher imports from Italy (industrial machinery), Mexico (various products) and Brazil (metal ores, iron and steel) were partially offset by the decrease in imports from Belgium (pharmaceutical products) and Switzerland (copper).
The merchandise trade deficit with countries other than the United States narrowed from $9.6 billion in August to $8.7 billion in September.
This is an excerpt from the 03 November 2022 edition of The Daily from Statistics Canada.