OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says the country's merchandise trade deficit with the world grew from $335 million in November to $649 million in December.
The agency says the deficit increased as merchandise imports rose by 2.3 per cent in December and exports rose 1.5 per cent.
Economists had expected a deficit of $1.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
Statistics Canada says import volumes were up 2.8 per cent, while prices were down 0.5 per cent. Export volumes rose 3.5 per cent, while prices declined 1.9 per cent.
Imports from the United States rose 0.8 per cent to $30 billion in December, while exports were up 0.6 per cent to $33.1 billion, narrowing Canada's trade surplus with that country from $3.2 billion in November to $3.1 billion in December.
Exports to other countries increased 4.5 per cent to $11.0 billion in December, while imports were up 5.3 per cent to $14.7 billion, widening the trade deficit with the rest of the world from $3.5 billion in November to $3.8 billion in December.
