Canadian international merchandise trade, May 2020

Following historic declines in April that saw exports and imports lose more than one-quarter of their monthly value due to the COVID-19 pandemic, exports increased 6.7% in May, mainly reflecting the resumption of production in the auto industry as well as higher crude oil prices. Meanwhile, imports decreased a further 3.9%, reflecting supply challenges at a time when various economies around the world were progressively re-opening.

Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $4.3 billion in April to $677 million in May.

In real (or volume) terms, exports were up 3.8% in May, while real imports fell 6.7%.

To explore the most recent results from Canada's international merchandise trade in an interactive format, visit the new "International merchandise trade monthly interactive dashboard." This new interactive dashboard is a comprehensive analytical tool that presents monthly changes in Canada's international merchandise trade data on a balance of payments basis, fully supporting the information presented every month in the Daily text...

This has been excerpted from a 2 July 2020 release by Statistics Canada.