Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that Canada's trade deficit widened to C$2.49 billion (US$2.48 billion) in September, from a C$1.49 billion (US$1.48 billion) trade gap in August. The rising deficit has been linked to declining imports to the US which came down 3.6 percent in September, as well as imports reaching their highest level in nearly two years, climbing 1.2 percent in the month.
Overall, exports fell 1.7 percent to C$33.1 billion (US$32.9 billion), while the volume of shipments dropped 2.2 percent. Gains in imports were led by increased demand for industrial goods and materials and machinery equipment, increasing 5.6, and 2.3 percent respectively.
Canada's growth has been sluggish in recent months, and slowed to approximately a 1.5 percent annualized pace in Q3 2010, down from 2 percent in Q2.