OTTAWA, Ont. — Canada increased its global trade surplus in February, thanks largely to surging exports to the US, Statistics Canada reported yesterday.

Canada’s exports rose 3.8% to $39.3 billion and imports dropped 2% to $34.4 billion for the month. Exports to the US alone rose 3.6% while imports from the US dropped 3.4%.

Leading economists were pleasantly surprised by the latest figures.

“The hefty jump in the trade surplus is a surprise but the real eye-opener is the fact that the improvement was driven by volumes, not booming commodity prices,” BMO Nesbitt Burns deputy chief economist Douglas Porter said. “Given a backdrop of weakening US spending and the loonie at parity (dampening Canadian exports), as well as still-robust Canadian spending trends, the real improvement in trade is nothing short of shocking.”

Leading the charge were auto exports, which grew 11.4%. Energy exports were also up, 3.8%. Even forestry product exports increased 3.9%.