OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says the country posted a merchandise trade surplus of $3.2 billion in May as imports rose and exports fell.

The result is a return to surplus after a $1.6 billion deficit in May.

Total exports increased 8.7 per cent to reach a record $53.8 billion in June, with gains in nine of 11 subsectors that included a 22.9 per cent rise in exports of energy products.

Excluding the strong fluctuations of 2020, June's $4.3 billion increase in export value was the largest on record.

Meanwhile, total imports for the month decreased one per cent to $50.5 billion, led by a 3.7-per-cent decline in consumer goods imports.

In volume terms, June exports rose seven per cent and imports fell 2.2 per cent.