Canadian trade balance data for July
- Prior was -$3.60B (revised to -$3.76B)
- Exports $44.14B, down 4.9% from June
- Imports $47.18B, down 6.0% from June
Price decreases were widespread and that's in some part due to Canadian dollar strength. At this point, the BOC has almost-certainly made up its mind but you have to assume they got this in advance.
Exports had also fallen 5.0% in June so the drop is substantial. The chart of imports and exports isn't looking great.
The export side is where the concern will be. The 9.6% fall in exports of motor vehicle and parts was the worst fall since Aug 2014. That should be a big concern but an optimist might not that auto plant shutdowns because of high North American inventories might have contributed.
