OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the country's merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $924 million in October as exports rose for the first time since June.
The agency said Thursday the result compared with a deficit of $1.3 billion in September.
Exports rose 1.1 per cent in October to $64.2 billion after three consecutive monthly declines.
The increase came as exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products rose 10.6 per cent, boosted by a 20.9 per cent gain in exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys.
Imports were up 0.5 per cent at $65.1 billion, though Statistics Canada said it added estimated values to most product categories because of delays in receiving the October data.
Statistics Canada's main source of data for import statistics is undergoing a major change as a result of a shift to a digital platform for paying duties. It said on Thursday that issues related to the switch are temporarily impacting the completeness and quality of the trade statistics.
TD Bank economist Marc Ercolao said it was the eighth consecutive deficit for Canadian trade figures.
"Statistics Canada has cautioned that a new digital initiative will subject October's data to heavy revisions, making this report tough to read," he wrote in a note.
"For what it's worth, export volumes are tracking higher than imports putting the growth contribution to Q4 GDP in positive territory."
Trade with the U.S. has been in the spotlight since U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports into the U.S. unless they are able to halt the movement of illegal drugs and migrants across their borders.
Statistics Canada said Canada's trade surplus with the United States narrowed to $6.2 billion in October compared with $7.9 billion in September as exports to the U.S. fell 2.8 per cent and imports from the U.S. rose 1.1 per cent.
Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States was $7.1 billion in October compared with a deficit of $9.2 billion in September.
In a separate report, Statistics Canada said the country's monthly international trade in services balance posted a deficit of $100 million in October compared with a surplus of $200 million in September as imports of services rose two per cent to $18.4 billion and exports of services climbed 0.7 per cent to $18.3 billion.
When international trade in goods and services are combined, Canada's total trade deficit with the world was $1.0 billion in October compared with $1.1 billion in September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.
The Canadian Press
