Statistics
Canada announced on Wednesday that Canada recorded a trade deficit of CAD0.31
billion in December 2023 compared to a revised surplus of CAD1.06 billion (from CAD1.57 billion) in November. This
was the first trade shortfall since July 2023.
Economists had forecast
a surplus of CAD1.10 billion.
According to the
report, Canada’s exports declined by 1.9 per cent m-o-m to CAD64.07 billion in December,
as 7 of 11
product sections demonstrated decreases in exports, led by motor vehicles and parts (-8.2 per
cent m-o-m), industrial machinery, equipment and parts (-6.8 per cent m-o-m), and
metal ores and non-metallic minerals (-4.5 per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile, imports rose by 0.2 per cent m-o-m to CAD64.39 billion in December, as gains in
imports in consumer goods (+9.4 per cent m-o-m), metal and non-metallic mineral
products (+5.8 per cent m-o-m), and metal ores and non-metallic minerals (+3.5
per cent m-o-m) more than offset declines in the remaining 8 product sections.
Statistics
Canada also noted that both imports and exports in December were impacted by
the appreciation of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar. The average
value of the Canadian currency increased by 1.5 cents US compared with the average
value in November. This marked the largest monthly advance since May 2021. When
expressed in USD, Canadian exports inched up 0.1 per cent m-o-m in December 2023, and imports surged 2.3 per
cent m-o-m.
For the full 2023,
Canada recorded a trade deficit of CAD1.4 billion compared to a surplus of CAD19.7
billion in 2022.