Canadian December 2019 trade balance data:
- Prior was -$1.09B (revised to -$1.20B)
- Exports +1.9% vs -1.9% in Nov
- Imports +0.2% vs -2.7% in Nov
- Total exports for 2019 +1.7%
- Total imports for 2019 +1.0%
- Total 2019 trade deficit $18.3B, which is smallest since 2014
- 8 of 11 export categories improved m/m
- Exports of energy products +9.5% with crude +18.0% on the repair of the Keystone pipeline
- Imports were led by consumer goods (+4.0%), which include pharma products (+11.6%)
- Canada trade surplus with US widened to $5.2B from $4.1B in Nov
- 2019 surplus with US was $51.6B -- highest since 2008
- Exports to China were down 16.0% in 2019
The headline is a bit better but the revision dims some of that shine. What really grabs my attention is that final headline showing exports to China down 16%. All else equal, that's a disaster for Canadian trade policy and shows how disastrous the decision to arrest Huawei's Meng Wanzhou was.
