Canada posted a monthly international trade surplus for September after seven consecutive months of deficits.
Data from Statistics Canada shows that the country registered a trade surplus of $153 million in September after posting a $6.43 billion deficit in August of this year.
September marked the first trade surplus that Canada has posted since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on imported Canadian goods and services.
The bulk of the surplus was driven by a 44% increase in Canada's trade surplus with the U.S., according to StatsCan.
The September trade data had been delayed as information for Canadian exports to the U.S. was unavailable due to a 43-day government shutdown in Washington, D.C.
The September surplus was much better than the trade deficit of $4.5 billion U.S. that economists surveyed by Reuters (TRI) had forecast.
Analysts and economists were impressed with the September trade data, saying it shows that Canada's international trade has started to normalize after months of turmoil.
Canada's total exports in September grew by 6.3% to $64.23 billion, rebounding from a drop of 3.2% in August, and were driven by higher exports in nine out of 11 product categories.
U.S. exports grew by 4.6% and exports to countries other than the U.S. increased 11%, said Statistics Canada.
Total imports dropped by 4.1% in September to $64.08 billion. Imports from the U.S. declined 1.7% in September, a third consecutive monthly decrease.
Canada's trade surplus with the U.S. in September was at its highest level since February of this year.
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