Canada December trade gap almost doubles, but export volumes rise

By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Low oil prices helped Canada's trade deficit to sharply widen to C$649 million ($519 million) in December, but in a more promising sign for the economy, export volumes surged. Statistics Canada's official release on Thursday also cut November's deficit to C$335 million from an initial C$644 million, citing a number of revisions. This helped outweigh a 10.3 percent decline in the value of energy product exports as oil prices dropped. Canada is