In December, Canada’s merchandise exports decreased 1.2%, mostly on lower exports of energy products. Meanwhile, imports were down 1.3%, mainly driven by lower imports of consumer goods. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $219 million in November to $160 million in December, reported Statistics Canada on Thursday.

The federal agency said total exports fell 1.2% to $63.0 billion in December, the lowest level since February 2022. Declines were observed in 7 of the 11 product sections, with exports of energy products leading the decreases. However, excluding energy products, exports posted an opposite movement, increasing by 0.8%. Total exports in real (or volume) terms were also up, rising 0.9% in December, it said.

“Exports of energy products decreased 7.6% to $14.3 billion in December, a third consecutive monthly decline and the lowest level recorded in 2022. Energy products accounted for 22.7% of total exports in December, a considerable drop from the peak of 29.3% recorded in June 2022. Crude oil exports (-7.7%) fell the most in December, mainly on lower prices. This price decline coincided with the temporary closure in December of a pipeline in the United States that carries Canadian crude oil. This event contributed to higher Canadian crude oil inventories, which, among other factors, exerted downward pressure on crude oil export prices. In addition, following declines in October and November, crude oil export volumes fell for a third consecutive month and remained relatively low compared with the peak in September,” said StatsCan.
“Total imports fell 1.3% to $63.1 billion in December, the lowest level since March 2022. Decreases were observed in 7 of the 11 product sections, but the decline in imports was largely attributable to negative movements in the consumer goods and motor vehicles and parts product sections. In real (or volume) terms, total imports fell 1.9%.”

(Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald, covering sports, crime, politics, health, faith, city and breaking news, and business. He works as well as a freelance writer for several national publications and as a consultant in communications and media relations/training. Mario was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list)

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