Canada posts second consecutive trade surplus, first time since September 2014
OTTAWA — The country posted back-to-back monthly trade surpluses for the first time since September 2014, boosted by higher prices for exports of oil and natural gas in December, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
But the gain in energy prices hid some troubling weakness in non-energy exports, economists said.
The overall trade surplus hit $923 million for the final month of 2016 after a surplus the previous month that was revised upward to $1 billion from an initial reading of $526 million.
The result exceeded expectations, as economists had anticipated a surplus of $350 million for December, according to Thomson Reuters.