According to the federal agency, Canada posted a trade surplus of $718 million in August, compared to a revised deficit of $437 million in July.

Bank of Montreal economist Shelly Kaushik noted that this was the first surplus since April.

“Energy prices led to a modest surplus in the Canadian Merchandise Trade Account,” she wrote in a report.

“But higher-than-expected volumes suggest goods trade could contribute to growth in the third quarter. Nevertheless, the economy is expected to slow significantly in the second half of the year.”

This goods trade surplus came as total exports rose 5.7% to $64.6 billion.

Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products rose 29.1% to a record $8.5 billion in August, driven by gold exports to the United States. At the same time, rising prices helped exports of energy products rise 14.6% to $14.5 billion.

Total imports rose 3.8% to $63.8 billion in August, while imports of industrial machinery, equipment and parts rose 7.5% to $7.8 billion in August.

In terms of volume, exports increased by 3% in August compared to July, while imports increased by 1.2%.

Canada’s trade deficit with countries other than the United States rose to $9.7 billion in August, compared to $8.6 billion in July, as exports rose 7.7% while imports rose 9.8% % increases.

Canada’s trade surplus with the United States rose to $10.4 billion from $8.2 billion in July as exports south of the border rose 5.2% while imports rose 0.6%.

In a separate news release, Statistics Canada said the country’s international services trade deficit rose to $1.5 billion in August from $1.2 billion in July, as services exports fell 0.7% to June 15 .0 billion US dollars fell and services imports increased by 0.7% to 16.4 billion US dollars.

Combining Canada’s international trade in goods and services, Canada’s trade deficit with the rest of the world was $743 million in August, up from $1.7 billion in July.