OTTAWA, July 3 — Canada posted a surprise trade surplus in May thanks to record exports to the United States, its main trading partner, the government reported today.

The surplus of C$762 million (RM2.4 billion) was only the second such bonanza measured since 2016, and followed an upwardly revised US$1.1 billion (RM4.6 billion)deficit in April, Statistics Canada said.

It caught economists off guard because they had been expecting the deficit to worsen, said the bank CIBC.

The turnaround stemmed from a 4.6 per cent jump in exports, with increases seen in nine of 11 categories that are measured.

Exports of passenger cars and light trucks contributed the most to the increase, with a surge of 17.8 per cent.

Imports rose 1 per cent thanks to purchases of aircraft in the US and Europe, the agency said.

Exports hit a record C$53.1 billion. — AFP