Surplus Made in Trade…….by a lot!

A surplus of $923M was made by Canada when it sold goods and services last year to the world. Analysts expected $350M but obviously, it was better than forecast.

Exports went up .8% in the last quarter in 2016 on the strength of higher energy prices. Imports also went up by a percent. This was mainly due to the aircraft and industrial machinery bought.

In terms of volume, exports went down by 1.4%. The higher oil prices covered up the loss. The country’s trade surplus with its neighbor to the south went down to $4.4B Dec. from $4.7B in November. Exports to the US stepped up to 0.2% to $34.2B in December, while imports increased 1.3% to $29.7B.

“These days, international trade reports are scrutinized, not just for their impact on GDP, but the political ramifications as well,” Lee said in a research note to clients.

“Running surpluses will draw unwanted attention (from the U.S.).”

For the year as a whole, exports went down by 0.7% to $521.1B.On the other hand, imports went down a bit by 0.1% to $547.2B. So on an annual basis, Canada posted a trade deficit of $26.1B in the last year, an increase of more than $3B from the year before that.