Canada July trade balance +0.68B vs +0.80B expected

• Prior was +0.64B (revised to -0.18B)
• Exports $65.66 billion vs $66.65 billion prior
• Imports $64.97 billion vs $66.01 billion prior

More details:

• Trade surplus with US widened to $11.3 billion from $9.0 billion in June
• Deficit with rest of world increased to $10.6 billion from $9.2 billion
• Motor vehicles and parts drove declines in both imports (-10.8%) and exports (-5.4%)
• Excluding autos, imports rose 0.5% and exports gained 0.3%
• Energy exports increased 1.2%, consumer goods exports up 3.1%
• In volume terms, imports fell 2.0%, exports down 1.5%

The revision to the prior reading here is a drag for Q2 GDP but the import/export volumes still look healthy. It’s not trade that’s the problem for the Canadian economy, though it could be if global growth turns lower.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.