Canada's trade deficit fell sharply in December to Can$370 million (US$278 million) as oil exports rebounded, the government statistical agency said Wednesday. The deficit narrowed from Can$1.2 billion the previous month, when disruptions in rail and pipeline transportation slowed Canadian trade activity, Statistics Canada said in a statement.
Exports rebounded 1.9 percent to Can$49.3 billion in December, led by an 18 percent increase in oil exports.
Imports, which had also fallen the previous month, rose slightly in December, but less rapidly (+ 0.2 percent), led by an increase in pharmaceuticals and other consumer goods.
For 2019 as a whole, Canada posted a trade deficit of $18.3 billion, the lowest since 2014, when the country posted its last annual trade surplus.
Exports last year to China - Canada's second largest trading partner behind the United States - fell 16 percent, in the first annual decline in five years.
That followed a diplomatic row over the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US warrant, and China's detention in apparent retaliation of two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor.