OTTAWA: Canada’s trade deficit in April narrowed to C$370 million ($274 million) as exports outpaced imports for a second month in a row to hit a new record high on shipments of motor vehicles and parts, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a shortfall of just C$70 million. Statscan revised March’s deficit sharply wider to C$936 million from an initial C$135 million to reflect late data on crude oil shipments.
Exports, which had jumped by 3.2 percent in March, increased by 1.8 percent in April to C$47.69 billion. Exports of motor vehicles and parts grew 4.4 percent while energy shipments posted a 2.5 percent gain. Imports also hit a peak, edging up 0.6 percent to a record C$48.06 billion, the fifth consecutive monthly increase, thanks in part to higher inward flows of consumer goods, electronic and electrical equipment and parts. Exports to the United States, which accounted for 75.7 percent of all Canadian exports in April, soared by 5.4 percent while imports grew by a more modest 1.1 percent. As a result, Canada’s trade surplus with the United States expanded to C$4.95 billion – the largest since May 2014 – from C$3.44 billion in March.
