— Nick Exarhos, CIBC
Canada's trade deficit narrowed less than expected last month, official figures revealed on Thursday. Statistics Canada reported that the country's trade gap came in at C$0.1B in March, down from the prior month's deficit of C$1.1B. However, the reading missed expectations for a C$0.3B trade surplus. Exports rose 3.8% to C$46.98B, as export volumes and prices climbed 2.5% and 1.3%, respectively. The trade balance report suggested that the economy finished the Q2 of 2017with solid growth. Energy exports contributed most to the March rise, posting a 7.0% gain. Imports rose 1.7% to C$47.11B amid higher inflows of metal and non-metallic products from Japan. In volume terms, imports fell 0.2%, while import prices jumped 1.9%. Higher imports pointed to improvement in business investment and inventories, contributors to GDP growth. In April, the Bank of Canada revised down its export growth forecast to 2.5% over the next three-month period, compared to a 3.0% growth estimate in January due to the high degree of uncertainty in the US and weak global investment.
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