Canada Records Second Straight Trade Surplus on Lower Imports

© Bloomberg Containers at the Port of Vancouver in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. Companies are rushing to get containers to Asia rather than waiting for agricultural products to be loaded and sent so that consumer goods made in factories there can be shipped to North America in time for the busy Christmas shopping season.

(Bloomberg) — Canada ran a second straight monthly trade surplus for the first time in five years, an improvement that reflects slumping imports.

Canada ran a merchandise trade surplus of C$1.04 billion ($824 million) in February from a revised C$1.21 billion in January, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday in Ottawa. Economists were anticipating a C$1.3 billion surplus. Canada hasn’t had back-to-back monthly trade surpluses since 2016.

Both exports and imports were down in February. Shipments abroad fell 2.7%, but that’s after a surge in January of 8.2%. Imports were down 2.4%, more than offsetting gains a month earlier and bringing purchases from abroad to their lowest level since August.

Statistics Canada said a global shortage of semiconductor chips impacted trade in the auto sector, with exports of motor vehicles and parts dropping 10% in February and imports down 7.8%.

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