Canada posts C$312 million trade deficit in December

OTTAWA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Canada posted a trade deficit of C$312 million ($232 million) in December, as imports edged up and exports fell, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday. These values were affected by the appreciation of the Canadian dollar.

Exports were down by 1.9%, largely on passenger cars and light trucks, as well as crude oil. Imports grew by 0.2%, on shipments of pharmaceuticals, as well as unwrought gold.

Following are the seasonally adjusted figures in billions of Canadian dollars:

Merchandise trade Dec Nov (rev) change pct Nov (prev)

Balance -0.312 +1.061 n/a +1.566

Exports 64.073 65.328 -1.9 65.738

Imports 64.385 64.267 +0.2 64.172

NOTE: Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast a surplus of C$1.10 billion in December.

($1=$1.3477 Canadian)

(Reporting by Dale Smith, editing by Ismail Shakil)(([e-mail]))

Keywords: CANADA ECONOMY/TRADE