Trade surplus widens, imports and exports drop

Canada's trade surplus rose to $351 million in March from $273 million in February as imports declined at a greater rate than exports, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.

The surplus was smaller than the $500 million predicted by market analysts.

Exports fell by 0.4 percent, the third consecutive monthly decline, as energy shipments decreased by 8.9 percent. Exports are particularly important for Canada, accounting for about 31 percent of gross domestic product in 2011.

Imports fell by 0.6 percent to a six-month low, pulled down by a 14.9-percent drop in imports of energy products. Imports of industrial goods and materials were down by 4.0 percent.

Exports to the United States, which took 73 percent of all Canadian exports in March, fell by 2.1 percent, the third month-on-month drop in a row.

Canada's trade surplus with the United States dropped to $4.62 billion in March from $4.89 billion in February.