Canada recorded a goods trade deficit of 312 million dollars in December, the first monthly trade deficit since July.

The Canadian Statistics Agency said on Wednesday that the result compared to the revised surplus of 1.1 billion dollars in November, and the preliminary reading for November issued last month showed a surplus of 1.6 billion dollars.

Shelley Koushik, the economic expert at BMO, wrote in a report: "The goods trade balance returned to a deficit in December, although most of the weakness came from the strength of the Canadian dollar, and in real value, trade flows look to support StatCan's surprisingly quick growth estimates for the fourth quarter."

The Canadian Statistics Agency added that total exports decreased by 1.9 percent in December to 64.1 billion dollars, with shipments of cars and parts down by 8.2 percent.

Energy product exports fell by 3.1 percent with crude oil exports down by 4.9 percent, affected by lower prices.

At the same time, total imports rose by 0.2 in December to 64.4 billion dollars. The increase came with a 9.4 percent rise in consumer goods imports, supported by a 28.1 percent increase in pharmaceutical product imports.

In volume terms, total exports fell by 0.4 percent in December while imports rose by 1.3 percent.

In a separate report, the Canadian Statistics Agency said the deficit in the country's international trade in services reached 700 million dollars in December compared to 900 million dollars in November.

Service exports rose by 1.3 percent to 16.9 billion dollars, while service imports rose by 0.3 percent to reach 17.6 billion dollars.

When international trade in goods and services are combined, Canada recorded a total trade deficit of 1.0 billion dollars in December compared to a surplus of 173 million dollars in November