OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s trade surplus with the world widened to C$5.05 billion in June, beating analyst expectations, as exports of energy products reached a record high, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.
Canada’s exports rose 2.0% in June, driven mainly by energy but also gold exports, while petroleum and motor gas pushed imports 1.7% higher, according to Statistics Canada data.
Analysts had forecast a surplus of C$4.80 billion.
Energy exports reached an all time high of C$21 billion and made up about a third of all exports in June. That also helped exports to rise for a sixth month, a first in nine years.
Imports, also led by energy products, increased for the fifth straight month. Imports of refined petroleum products reached a record high, Statistics Canada said, adding that it observed a “significant growth” in imports of motor gasoline from the United States and UK.
Strong commodity prices after the Ukraine war as well as a boom in demand as economies eased pandemic-related restrictions have allowed Canada to weather an economic storm threatening to tip many of its fellow G7 rich nations into recession.
The Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.2835 to the greenback, or 77.91 U.S. cents.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Additional reporting by Dale Smith and Fergal Smith; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
