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Canada Posts Larger Trade Surplus Than Expected
Published:
5/12/2009 9:16:46 AM
By:
TradingEconomics.com, Statistics Canada
Canada's merchandise imports and exports both declined in March, largely due to volume reductions. Imports decreased more than twice as fast as exports, leading to the widening of Canada's trade surplus with the world from $262 million in February to $1.1 billion in March.
Imports fell 4.4% to $31.4 billion as most sectors posted decreases. Energy products registered the largest decline, followed by machinery and equipment, as well as industrial goods and materials. Since the peak of July 2008, imports have fallen by more than $8.0 billion, mainly as a result of declines in the energy products and automotive products sectors.
Exports were down 1.8% to $32.5 billion, largely reflecting a decline in exports to the United States. Increased exports to the European Union moderated the decline. Overall exports have fallen by $11.8 billion since reaching their highest level in July 2008, primarily as a result of lower exports of energy products in the latter part of 2008.
Canada's trade surplus with the United States remained at $3.6 billion in March, virtually unchanged from February. Exports to the United States decreased 4.1% while imports declined 4.7%.
Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States narrowed to $2.5 billion in March from $3.3 billion in February, as exports increased 4.5% while imports decreased 3.9%.
While both imports and exports posted gains in February and fell in March, the pace of decline in March was considerably slower than those observed at the end of 2008 and in January 2009.
Energy products fell by 18.4% to $2.3 billion, the lowest level since October 2004. Imports of other energy products, down 33.2%, led the decline while imports of crude petroleum decreased 2.1%. The volume of energy products declined 16.2% in March while prices decreased 2.7%.
Imports of machinery and equipment declined 4.5% to $9.6 billion in March, following a 4.0% increase in February. Aircraft and other transportation equipment as well as industrial and agricultural machinery accounted for almost three-quarters of the decline in imports.
Industrial goods and materials imports were down 4.5% to $6.6 billion, mainly due to volume reduction. Although the declines were broad based, a decline in imports of pipes and tubes for drilling was the main contributor. Volumes have generally been declining in this sector since August 2008.
Machinery and equipment and automotive products accounted for almost two-thirds of the decline in exports in March, followed by energy products.
Machinery and equipment exports decreased 3.4% to $7.7 billion as volumes declined, largely as a result of lower exports of aircraft and telecommunication equipment. Other transportation equipment moderated the sector's decline on the strength of locomotive exports.
Automotive product exports, trending downward since December 2006, fell 3.3% to $3.4 billion due to decreases in exports of trucks and motor vehicle parts. Exports of passenger autos increased for the second month in a row, following January's plant shutdowns. Overall, the decline in automotive products was mainly due to volume reduction.
Exports of energy products contracted 1.4% to $6.5 billion in March due to a decline in volumes, as prices increased for the first time since July 2008. Lower exports of petroleum and coal products and natural gas were responsible for the weakness in this sector, which has been on a downward trend since June 2008.
Canada Economic News
Canada Gained Jobs in January
Published: 2/5/2010 8:49:14 AM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg
Canada gained more jobs than expected in January, led by part-time positions for youth, pushing the unemployment rate down. Employment rose by 43,000 last month, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent.
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Canada Economy Expands 0.4%
Published: 1/29/2010 10:03:36 AM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Statistics Canada
Real gross domestic product advanced 0.4% in November, a third consecutive monthly increase. As was the case in September and October, most major industrial sectors increased their production.
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Canada Inflation Hits 10-month High
Published: 1/20/2010 10:15:06 AM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Reuters
Higher gasoline prices pushed Canada's annual inflation rate to a 10-month high in December, but the data is unlikely to knock the Bank of Canada off track in its pledge to hold interest rates steady for some time.
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Bank of Canada Holds Rate Low
Published: 1/19/2010 9:56:51 AM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg
Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 0.25% and reiterates conditional commitment to hold current policy rate until the end of the second quarter of 2010.
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Canada Slips Back Into Trade Deficit in November
Published: 1/16/2010 2:12:36 PM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Reuters
Canada's trade balance unexpectedly slipped back into deficit in November as strong imports, led by vehicles from the United States, outweighed export gains from rising oil prices.
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Canada Jobs Unexpectedly Fall
Published: 1/8/2010 8:43:49 AM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg
Canada unexpectedly lost jobs in December, led by transportation and public administration, keeping the jobless rate close to the highest in more than a decade.
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Canada's Economy Grew 0.2% in October
Published: 12/23/2009 10:27:25 AM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg
Canada’s economy grew 0.2 percent in October, less than economists expected, as gains in real estate services and utilities offset a drop in mining output.
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Canada Inflation Quickens
Published: 12/17/2009 9:32:12 AM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg
Canadian consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in eight months in November because of higher gasoline costs, the national statistics agency said.
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Canada Unexpectedly Swings to Trade Surplus
Published: 12/10/2009 9:26:59 AM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg
Canada posted its first trade surplus in four months in October on rising shipments and higher prices for the nation’s gold and energy.
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Canada Keeps Rate at 0.25%
Published: 12/8/2009 9:35:16 AM
By: TradingEconomics.com, Bank of Canada
Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 0.25% and reiterates conditional commitment to hold current policy rate until the end of the second quarter of 2010.
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More news
Balance of Trade Definition
The balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of exports and
imports in an economy over a certain period of time. A positive balance of trade
is known as a trade surplus and consists of exporting more than is imported; a negative
balance of trade is known as a trade deficit or, informally, a trade gap.
The balance
of trade forms part of the current account, which also includes other transactions
such as income from the international investment position as well as international
aid. If the current account is in surplus, the country's net international asset
position increases correspondingly. Equally, a deficit decreases the net international
asset position.
The Balance of Trade is identical to the difference between a country's
output and its domestic demand - the difference between what goods a country produces
and how many goods it buys from abroad; this does not include money respent on foreign
stocks, nor does it factor the concept of importing goods to produce for the domestic
market (source: wikipedia).
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