Even with an extra day due to it being a leap year, lower natural gas prices pushed down Alberta’s international exports* for the third month in a row in February on a year-over-year (y/y) basis.

The 2.1% drop compared to February 2023 was due to a 3.3% y/y pullback in the value of energy product exports due to a major decline in the price of natural gas.

The value of non-energy product exports, meanwhile, increased by $52 million (1.4%).

There was, however, lots of variation across the non-energy product groups with consumer goods, food products, electronics, forestry products, and motor vehicles and parts all posting higher y/y sales.

Metals and minerals, chemicals and plastics, machinery, and aircraft and transportation products, on the other hand, all saw declines.

Nationally, record-high exports of unwrought gold helped push total y/y export value up by 5.0% in February.

*All data in today’s Owl are on a customs basis.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The original Trans Mountain Pipeline is 1,150 km long.

Today’s trivia question: Approximately how big is China’s labour force?