Canada posts rare trade surplus as exports to U.S. hit record high

Canada’s trade balance unexpectedly swung into surplus for the first time in 10 months on a broad-based jump in exports, adding to evidence the economy has returned to a more solid footing.

The country ran a rare trade surplus on $762 million in May. It’s only the fourth surplus for the country since oil prices began declining in 2014, driven by a 4.6 per cent increase in exports.

Economists had been anticipating the trade gap would actually widen in May to $1.7 billion. Exports to the U.S. rose 3.7 per cent to a record $39.3 billion, increasing Canada’s trade surplus with its biggest trading partner to $5.9 billion — the largest since October 2008...

This was excerpted from the 3 July 2019 edition of the Financial Post.