The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canadian exports increased for the third straight month in July, narrowing the trade deficit with the world and boosting the surplus with the U.S. The Globe's Nojoud Al Mallees writes that Statistics Canada reported a 0.9-per-cent rise in exports and a 0.7-per-cent decline in imports, cutting the trade deficit to $4.9-billion from $6-billion. Following a decline in April due to tariffs, exports have shown modest growth, leading economists to predict a positive impact on economic growth in the third quarter, despite ongoing U.S. tariffs. CIBC economist Andrew Grantham wrote in a note, "Canadian exports and the goods trade deficit began to stabilize in July, albeit at weaker levels than prevailed before U.S. tariffs and related uncertainty took hold." After a decline of 11.2 per cent in April, exports rose by 3 per cent, though they remain significantly below pretrade war levels. A rebound in the third quarter could help Canada avoid a technical recession, as Statscan reported a 1.6-per-cent annualized contraction in the second quarter. Energy exports increased by 4.2 per cent in July after five months of decline, while motor vehicle and parts exports rose by 6.6 per cent.