Canada's trade deficit narrowed in November, following declines in imports of energy products and equipment as well as a modest gain in exports.
November's deficit fell to C$81 million (US$81.8 million), down from C$1.48 billion the previous month, according to a report released Thursday by Statistics Canada.
Although the data marks an improvement, there still remained a fundamental decline in overall imports compared with a rise in exports, noted HSBC Securities economist Stewart Hall.
"For a small open economy like Canada's, an active border signals an active economy, and the border was not all that active," Reuters reports Hall as saying.
Still, the shift did little to impact the Canadian dollar, which has been particularly strong in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told a crowd in Washington, D.C., that the country expects the loonie to remain on par with the U.S. dollar, citing Canada's growing economic strength as wells as the establishment of new trade ties with emerging economies such as China and India.
