Canada: International trade balance rises to $1.4 billion in January vs. -$1.4 billion expected

• Canada’s International Merchandise Trade posted a surplus in January.
• USD/CAD trades in the positive territory a little below 1.2700.

Canada’s International Merchandise Trade increased to $1.4 billion in February from -$1.98 billion in January, Statistics Canada reported on Friday. This reading came in better than the market expectation of -$1.4 billion.

“Canada posted a trade surplus of $1.4 billion in January, the first since May 2019, owing to a sharp 8.1% increase in merchandise exports,” the publication read. “It was also the largest surplus since July 2014. Imports rose 0.9% in January compared with the previous month.”

Market reaction

The USD/CAD pair edged modestly lower and was last seen trading at 1.2688, up 0.18% on a daily basis.