Canada’s trade deficit grew to $3 billion in March: StatsCan

The gap between what Canada buys from the rest of the world and what it sells expanded to an all-time record of $3 billion in March as Canadians imported a lot more consumer goods during the month, at the same time as Canadian exports such as oil plunged.

According to new figures from Statistics Canada, the country’s trade deficit grew to $3 billion for March as growth in exports failed to keep pace with the growth in imports.

StatsCan also revised the result for February to show a deficit of $2.2 billion compared with its earlier reading of a $984-million deficit as exports of energy products were updated.

The March deficit grew compared with February as imports increased 2.2 per cent while exports edged up 0.4 per cent, StatsCan said.

Import volumes rose 1.5 per cent, while prices increased 0.6 per cent. For exports, volumes increased 1.9 per cent, while prices declined 1.5 per cent.

Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S. increased to $2.2 billion in March compared with $1.9 billion in February, StatsCan said. Meanwhile, Canada’s trade deficit with countries other than the U.S. widened to $5.2 billion compared with $4.2 billion in February.