09:01 AM EDT, 08/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Canada's international merchandise trade balance Tuesday swung into a C$600 million surplus in June, a much better outcome than the C$2.0 billion deficit expected by the consensus, said CIBC.

That reflected a 5.5% m/m surge in exports, driven by higher crude shipment volumes tied to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Exports increased in nine of 11 categories, while imports were up by 1.9% m/m, with nine of 11 categories also rising.

However, for the quarter as a whole, export volumes declined by 0.4% while import volumes increased by 0.3%, suggesting that net trade will have been a drag on growth overall in Q2, stated CIBC.