Canada’s trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed as exports rose faster than imports, reinforcing the Bank of Canada’s view that the domestic economy remains resilient amid global tensions. The nation posted a $1.1 billion trade gap in October, from a revised $1.2 billion in September, Statistics Canada said Thursday in Ottawa. The result beat economist expectations for a wider deficit of $1.5 billion. The trade report comes on the heels of the Bank of Canada holding its benchmark interest rate steady for a ninth straight decision. Policy makers said Wednesday a recovery in global growth “appears to be intact,” even as trade tensions remain the biggest source of risk to the national economy.
The Canadian dollar continues to strengthen to the USD, based on further economic strength and OPEC reaching an agreement that adjusts its official production targets, but removes few barrels from a market that’s forecast to return to surplus early next year.After a day of debate in Vienna, ministers agreed to deepen their output-cuts target by 500,000 barrels a day, a delegate said, formalizing the extra supply reductions the group has already been making for most of this year.
Expect a range of 1.3145-1.3200
Currently Close Range
USDCAD 1.3175 1.3201 1.3159-1.3203
EURCAD 1.4628 1.4624 1.4599-1.4635
GBPCAD 1.7343 1.7298 1.7277-1.7350