Canadian exports rose 2.5% in April, striking an all-time high by volume, as imports declines 0.2%, in part due to a decrease in energy products, according to data released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

Due to this, in April, the nation’s trade surplus with the world grew to C$1.94 billion ($1.45 billion), more than doubling the forecasts by analysts for a C$900 million surplus. March’s surplus was revised downward, from C$972 million originally, to C$231 million.

Despite interest rates being hiked at record paces by the Bank of Canada beginning in March of 2022 and carrying through January of this year, the Canadian economy has been steadily outperforming expectations.

Analysts say this may mean it is more likely that there will be another rate increase at the next meeting for the Bank of Canada, which will announce its decision at 10AM ET on Wednesday.

The increase in exports was due to increases in the exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products, as well as energy products, Statscan said. Exports had increased 2.8% by volume, now exceeding the pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels.

The increase in metal product exports included increased transfers of gold assets from financial institutions in Canada, to the United States, which analysts say is a sign investors are moving into the safe-haven commodity.

For the third month in a row, imports declined, largely due to reduced crude oil shipments from Saudi Arabia and the United States. Refined petroleum product imports were also reduced, contributing to the decline.

Data released last week showed that the Canadian economy was expanding faster than expected over the first quarter ending in March, as it benefitted from favorable international trade, and that trend likely accelerated in April. Annual inflation came in higher than expected in April. For the first time in 10 months it accelerated to 4.4%, which was over twice the 2% target rate of the Bank of Canada.