Overview
- Canada’s merchandise deficit widened to C$5.74 billion in February after Statistics Canada’s release Thursday showed record imports tied to large gold purchases from the United States.
- Total Canadian imports hit an all‑time high of C$72.1 billion, led by a 45.6% jump in metal and mineral products driven by unwrought gold, while exports rose to C$66.31 billion.
- Canada’s export mix shifted as sales to non‑U.S. partners climbed to a record C$22.3 billion, lowering the U.S. share of Canadian exports to just over 66%, the lowest on record.
- U.S. trade data for February showed a $57.3 billion deficit as imports rebounded to $372.1 billion and exports set a record at $314.8 billion, with monetary gold and natural gas lifting industrial supplies and computers and semiconductors boosting capital goods.
- Policy moves kept uncertainty high after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down broad tariffs in February and the administration imposed a temporary global duty, while the U.S. goods gap with China stayed unusually low at about $13.1 billion as sourcing shifted.