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Canada posts $1.2B merchandise trade surplus for October: StatCan

Canada's merchandise trade surplus grew to $1.2 billion in October as a depreciation in the Canadian dollar helped lift the value of both exports and imports, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

The result compared with a revised surplus of $607 million in September compared with its earlier reading of a surplus of $1.1 billion.

Statistics Canada said total exports rose 1.5 per cent to $67 billion in October as exports of consumer goods gained 9.7 per cent to $7.7 billion, lifted higher by a 20.7 per cent gain in pharmaceutical products.

Exports of farm, fishing and intermediate food products increased 10.2 per cent in October to a record $5.5 billion, boosted by exports of canola and wheat.

Meanwhile, total imports rose 0.6 per cent to $65.8 billion in October as imports of motor vehicles and parts gained 4.6 per cent to $10.3 billion.

Statistics Canada said the average value of the loonie in October fell 2.1 cents US compared with September, noting that when the Canadian dollar falls against the U.S. dollar, converted monthly trade values in Canadian dollars are higher.

When expressed in U.S dollars, the agency said Canadian exports fell 1.3 per cent in October and imports dropped 2.2 per cent. In volume terms, total exports rose 0.1 per cent in October, while imports in volume terms fell 0.9 per cent.

CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham said exports continue to benefit from strong demand for Canada's resources, although the slowing global economy could be starting to weigh on other areas of trade.

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2022-12-07T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-07T08:00:00.0000000Z

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