Canada posted its fifth straight trade surplus in February, the longest series of reported surpluses since November 2008, adding to yet piece of evidence supporting a growing economic recovery. Yesterday Canada’s balance of goods beat market expectations as Stats Canada reported a monthly trade surplus of C$1.40 billion ($1.39 billion), the largest surplus since October 2008. Despite a rising Canadian Dollar, exports increased 2.8% in February to C$34, led by a 7.2% gain in industrial goods and automatic products. Imports rose 0.9% to C$32.6 billion. However, despite this positive news, the Loonie was little changed at C$1.0033 per U.S. dollar following the report.
The recovery of the northern nation’s trade surplus, comes after numerous reports this year that have shown steady gains in housing and wholesale sales along with a drop in the unemployment rate. The BOC has reportedly stated that both output and a key measure of inflation have been higher than expected, leading many economists to believe that the central bank will being raising the benchmark interest rate from 0.25% in the third quarter – well ahead of the U.S Fed.
The recovery of the northern nation’s trade surplus, comes after numerous reports this year that have shown steady gains in housing and wholesale sales along with a drop in the unemployment rate. The BOC has reportedly stated that both output and a key measure of inflation have been higher than expected, leading many economists to believe that the central bank will being raising the benchmark interest rate from 0.25% in the third quarter – well ahead of the U.S Fed.
