Lower Gold Exports Push Canada to Near-Record Trade Deficit

Falling gold exports and surging imports of the safe-haven metal pushed Canada to post its second-largest trade deficit on record, surpassed only by the nadir it reached in April.

The country’s shortfall with the world widened to C$6.3 billion ($4.5 billion) in August from a revised C$3.8 billion in July, according to Statistics Canada data released Tuesday. That was deeper than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.