Canada posts record trade deficit in March on lower energy prices
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Canada’s merchandise trade deficit reached a record in March as the value of energy exports declined and imports of consumer goods increased.
The $3.02 billion deficit broke the old record of $2.87 billion set in July 2012, Statistics Canada said Tuesday in Ottawa. The shortfall exceeded the highest forecast of $1.33 billion in a Bloomberg economist survey with 15 responses, which had a median forecast predicting the trade deficit would narrow.
Canada’s trade balance has been dominated by crude prices that collapsed more than 50 percent drop in the second half of last year, turning the nation’s surplus of $2 billion into six straight deficits. Exports outside the energy industry such as automobiles and machinery will help overcome the shock of last year’s drop in oil prices in the next few months, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz told lawmakers last week.
Energy exports fell by 8.9 percent to $6.89 billion in March, including a 29.7 percent drop in refined petroleum products to $855 million, Statistics Canada said. Energy prices declined 7 percent and volumes fell 2.1 percent. From 12 months earlier, energy exports were down by 43.7 percent.
Imperial Oil Ltd., the Canadian oil-sands company owned by Exxon Mobil Corp., reported on April 30 first-quarter profit fell by more than half as crude prices tumbled. Capital spending in Western Canada’s energy industry will fall 33 percent to $46 billion in 2015, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said on Jan. 21.
Excluding energy, exports rose by 2.4 percent in March, including an 11.7 percent gain in automobiles and parts to $6.6 billion. Total exports rose 0.4 percent in March to $42.5 billion, and were down 3.1 percent from a year earlier.
Imports gained 2.2 percent to a record $45.5 billion, as consumer goods jumped by 7.9 percent to $9.98 billion. Goods brought in from China rose 28.1 percent to $4.12 billion.
The volume of exports advanced 1.9 percent and import volumes rose 1.5 percent, Statistics Canada said. Volume figures adjust for price changes and can be a better indicator of how trade contributes to economic growth.
The agency revised the February deficit to $2.22 billion from $984 million on updated energy figures. The revisions increased the size of deficits over the past four months by $2 billion.
The $3.02 billion deficit broke the old record of $2.87 billion set in July 2012, Statistics Canada said Tuesday in Ottawa. The shortfall exceeded the highest forecast of $1.33 billion in a Bloomberg economist survey with 15 responses, which had a median forecast predicting the trade deficit would narrow.
Canada’s trade balance has been dominated by crude prices that collapsed more than 50 percent drop in the second half of last year, turning the nation’s surplus of $2 billion into six straight deficits. Exports outside the energy industry such as automobiles and machinery will help overcome the shock of last year’s drop in oil prices in the next few months, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz told lawmakers last week.
Energy exports fell by 8.9 percent to $6.89 billion in March, including a 29.7 percent drop in refined petroleum products to $855 million, Statistics Canada said. Energy prices declined 7 percent and volumes fell 2.1 percent. From 12 months earlier, energy exports were down by 43.7 percent.
Imperial Oil Ltd., the Canadian oil-sands company owned by Exxon Mobil Corp., reported on April 30 first-quarter profit fell by more than half as crude prices tumbled. Capital spending in Western Canada’s energy industry will fall 33 percent to $46 billion in 2015, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said on Jan. 21.
Excluding energy, exports rose by 2.4 percent in March, including an 11.7 percent gain in automobiles and parts to $6.6 billion. Total exports rose 0.4 percent in March to $42.5 billion, and were down 3.1 percent from a year earlier.
Imports gained 2.2 percent to a record $45.5 billion, as consumer goods jumped by 7.9 percent to $9.98 billion. Goods brought in from China rose 28.1 percent to $4.12 billion.
The volume of exports advanced 1.9 percent and import volumes rose 1.5 percent, Statistics Canada said. Volume figures adjust for price changes and can be a better indicator of how trade contributes to economic growth.
The agency revised the February deficit to $2.22 billion from $984 million on updated energy figures. The revisions increased the size of deficits over the past four months by $2 billion.
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