Canada Reports 1st Trade Deficit in Over 30 Years

Canada posted a trade deficit of 458 million Canadian dollars (about 373 million U.S. dollars) in December, marking the first trade deficit since 1976, federal agency Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.

Canadian exports dropped 9.7 percent, the largest one-month percentage decline since October 1982, to 35.3 billion Canadian dollars, as volumes and prices for goods shipped out of the country both fell.

Imports for December fell 5.7 percent to 35.8 billion Canadian dollars.

Canada's trade surplus with the economically battered United States, the country's top trading partner, fell to its lowest level since December 1998.

The surplus with the U.S. retreated to 3.8 billion Canadian dollars in December from 4.6 billion in November.

Exports to the United States dropped 10 percent in December to 25.9 billion Canadian dollars, while imports from the U.S. fell by 8.4 percent.

Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States grew to 4.2 billion Canadian dollars in December, from 3.4 billion in November, as exports declined 9 percent while imports fell 1 percent.

The Canadian economy has been hard hit by the slump in commodities prices and the recession in the United States. ( 1 U.S. dollar = 1.2279 Canadian dollars)

Source: CRIEnglish