A container ship arrives at the port of Halifax.STRINGER/CANADA/Reuters
A sharp improvement in Canada's trade balance in the fourth quarter cut the current account deficit by $5.93-billion from record third-quarter levels, Statistics Canada said on Monday.
The $11.05-billion fourth quarter gap, down from $16.98-billion, exceeded the $9.35-billion deficit expected by analysts surveyed by Reuters.
The balance in trade in goods swung to a $523-million surplus from a $6.42-billion deficit in the third quarter, as exports of industrial goods and energy products surged.
Nonetheless, 2010 as a whole saw a record current account deficit of $49.98-billion, up from a record $43.52-billion in 2009.