Canada June trade deficit widens, imports hit record high

(Reuters) - Canada posted a larger-than-expected trade deficit of C$1.81 billion ($1.83 billion) in June from a revised C$954 million deficit in May, according to Statistics Canada data on Thursday.

Imports grew 2.3 percent to hit a second-straight record high, led by the machinery and equipment sector. Exports edged up 0.2 percent, as a strong gain in exports of car products offset declines in five out of seven sectors. Following are the seasonally adjusted figures in billions of Canadian dollars:

Merchandise trade June May(rev) change pct May(prev) Balance -1.806 -0.954 n.a -0.793 Exports 39.097 39.027 +0.2 38.875 Imports 40.903 39.981 +2.3 39.668

(Reporting by Alex Paterson; Editing by David Ljunggren)