UPDATE 1-Canada posts record trade deficit in May

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OTTAWA, July 10 (Reuters) - Plummeting energy and autos exports pushed Canada into its largest trade deficit ever in May at C$1.42 billion ($1.22 billion), up from a deficit of C$389 million in April, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

The trade gap was far wider than analysts' expectations of a C$500 million deficit and the biggest, in current dollars, since Statscan began collecting the data in 1971.

Weak U.S. and global demand pushed down overall exports by 6.9 percent to their lowest since September 1998. The hardest-hit areas were exports of automotive and energy products, which slid 12.4 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively. Exports fell in volume terms but also took a big blow from the sharp rise in the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar in the month.

Shipments to the United States, which buys about three-quarters of all exports, tumbled 8.1 percent and Canada's trade surplus with its neighbor shrank to C$1.5 billion from C$2.6 billion in April.

Total imports declined 3.5 percent, dragged down mainly by automotive products, energy products and machinery and equipment. (Reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)