Canadian international trade declines

OTTAWA, April 12 (UPI) -- Canada's trade surplus plummeted in February as both merchandise imports and exports declined, Statistics Canada reported from Ottawa Tuesday.

The trade surplus fell to $33 million from $382 million in January, the agency said.

By value, exports fell 4.9 percent to $35.9 billion as imports decreased 4 percent to $35.8 billion, StatsCan said.

As for volumes, they were down 5.2 percent from January and declines were seen in all sectors.

Import volumes also dipped 4.3 percent for the month, the report said.

Exports to countries other than the United States fell 8.5 percent as imports declined 0.7 percent. "Thus, Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States widened from $3.8 billion in January to $4.5 billion in February," the report said.

Imports from the United States declined by 6.1 percent and Exports declined 3.5 percent, expanding Canada's U.S. trade surplus from $4.1 billion in January to $4.6 billion in February, the agency said.