Canada's trade surplus staged a surprising surge to a near-record C$7.3 billion ($6.08 billion) in November as the strong Canadian dollar made imports cheaper. Statistics Canada said on Wednesday that the value of imports fell 10.2 percent from October to C$27.41 billion, while exports fell 2.9 percent to C$34.71 billion. That resulted in the third-highest trade surplus since 1997, and one that fell just short of the C$7.5 billion record set in June.
Analysts had expected, on average, a surplus of C$4.4 billion on imports of C$31.4 billion and exports of C$35.8 billion. In the United States, the trade deficit for November widened unexpectedly to a record $60.3 billion as higher prices for oil imports took a toll.
The US trade figures knocked the greenback down against other currencies, including the Canadian dollar, which shot up to C$1.1957, or 83.63 US cents, by mid morning from C$1.2182, or 82.09 US cents, an hour before the US and Canadian trade reports were issued.
Comments
Comments are closed.