According to Canada's Statistics Bureau, the country's current-account deficit widened during the first three months of the current year to 16.77 billion Canadian dollars or $12.86 billion. The following release was largely in line with the market consensus for a $16.8 billion deficit, according to economists from Royal Bank of Canada. Meanwhile, the previous quarter's deficit was revised higher to $15.71 billion. Foreign investment in Canadian bonds was the largest contributor to the net inflow of funds in the economy. The deficit on international trade in goods expanded to $1.3 billion to $6.3 billion in the first quarter. The deficit on international transactions in goods, in turn, deepened to $6.34-billion from $5.04-billion. Overall, exports of goods plunged by $1.49-billion to $130.36-billion as soft crude prices cut the value of energy exports. The overall deficit on international trade in services narrowed by $171-million (US) to $5.65-billion (Canadian) as Americans increased their spending in Canada.
In the meantime, the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) slipped to 0.7%, led by higher prices for crude energy products. The IPPI declined 0.5% in April, after falling 0.6% in March. The motorized and recreational vehicles commodity group (-2.1%) was the main reason for the drop in the IPPI in the previous month.
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