Canada‘s exports reached a record C $ 53.8 billion in June, an increase of 8.7% year-on-year, Statistics Canada reported.
Excluding the strong fluctuations in 2020, value growth in June was the highest on record.
Exports increased in 9 of the 11 product sections and non-energy exports rose 5.5 percent.
In real (or volume) terms, total exports advanced 7.0 percent.
Exports of energy products (+ 22.9%) increased to C $ 11.3 billion in June, the highest level since March 2019.
The increase of C $ 2.1 billion, which accounted for almost half of the gain in total exports, was primarily attributed to a 25.7% increase in crude exports.
While crude oil prices rose in June, the increase in the value of exports was primarily the result of higher volumes, which rose after a slowdown in crude oil production in Canada in April and May.
Also exports of refined energy products from oil (+ 37.1%) and natural gas (+ 23.3%) increased in June.
Canada Exports
External sales of motor vehicles and spare parts increased 14.9% in June.
Following recent monthly declines related to shutdowns caused by supply chain issues (notably the global shortage of microchips), passenger car and truck exports rose 24.6% in June.
Work stoppages at Canadian assembly plants in June were less severe than in April and May.
Despite the monthly increase, passenger car and truck exports remained more than 8% lower than in June 2020, when the Canadian auto industry had not yet fully recovered from pandemic-related lockdowns.
Gold and silver
Exports of metallic and non-metallic mineral products increased 12.7% in June, to a record 6.7 billion Canadian dollars.
Exports of crude gold, silver and platinum group metals and their alloys, a category made up primarily of gold, contributed the most to the gain.
These increased 23.2%, mainly due to higher gold exports to Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
Higher asset transfers within the banking sector and increased refined gold sales were behind these gains in June.
Likewise, exports of raw aluminum and aluminum alloys (+ 19.0%) increased in June, mainly due to higher exports to the United States and the Netherlands.
