Canada's merchandise trade deficit narrowed considerably in July after a province-wide strike by British Columbia dockworkers came to an end, said Statistics Canada.
The federal agency said Canada’s trade deficit with the rest of the world declined to $987 million in July, which was much lower than a revised trade deficit of $4.9 billion in June of this year.
The July deficit was due to a 5.4% decline in imports, with imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products falling 25.3% during the month.
Imports of gold fell 60% in July due largely to lower gold transfers between global financial institutions.
Statistics Canada said imports of goods from Asia that rely on B.C. ports were also lower in July due to the B.C. port strike that lasted a total of 13 days.
At the same time, exports from Canada rose only 0.7% in July due to the ramifications of the port strike.
Exports of aircraft and other transportation equipment rose 23.4% to reach a record of $3.2 billion, while exports of farm, fishing and intermediate food products increased 9.7%.
Canada’s trade surplus with the neighbouring U.S. rose to $7.4 billion in July from $6.4 billion in June.
Canada's total trade balance, combining trade in goods and services, came to a deficit of $2.4 billion in July compared with a deficit of $6 billion in June, said Statistics Canada.
