Canada’s current account swung from a revised $8.3 billion deficit in the first quarter to an $8.8 billion surplus in the second, Statistics Canada reported Thursday — more than twice what forecasters had penciled in. It’s the country’s first current account surplus in four years and the largest since 2005.
Energy exports drove the swing, rising 27.4% as the war in Iran pushed global oil prices higher, with crude oil and bitumen exports both reaching record levels. Auto exports climbed 19.3%, and foreign investors poured a record $80.8 billion into Canadian government bonds.
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The loonie pared back part of this week’s slide following the data, changing hands at 1.3855 per US dollar, up 0.2%, after touching a one-week low Wednesday on investor worry that new US tariffs on Canadian goods could hurt an economy that had just shown signs of recovery.
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Canada’s Department of Finance pulled seafood and fish products from its retaliation list on Wednesday night after hearing from affected industries, saying the move would “protect against broader economic harms,” and added items like copper wire and charcoal to keep the response matched dollar for dollar with the new US duties.
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