The deterioration in goods trade is likely to have weighed heavily on Canada’s economy in the April to June period, as shipments of items from cars to metals targeted by protectionist U.S. policies slumped. And while exports to the U.S., by far Canada’s largest market, advanced in June, that was due mainly to higher oil prices.

Canada’s merchandise trade deficit reached a record high in the second quarter, with June’s gap between exports and imports expanding.

Canada posted its second-largest monthly trade deficit on record in June, hitting $5.9bn, as rising US tariffs pushed exporters to seek markets beyond the United States and one-time import costs skewed the monthly balance, according to Statistics Canada.