TORONTO - Canada's economy let off more steam in July as the trade surplus with the rest of the world fell by 12 per cent compared with June and the housing market cooled for the sixth month in a row, according to data released Thursday. The loonie tumbled to its lowest level in a year on the news.
On the trade front, Statistics Canada reported Thursday that the surplus faded to $4.9 billion in July from a revised $5.6 billion in June, when the surplus was 3.5 per cent smaller than originally thought.
In a recent survey, the average forecast of economists was that the July surplus would come in at $5.6 billion, down from the $5.8 billion that Statistics Canada initially reported for June.
Exports rose 2.2 per cent to $44.3 billion in July with volume up 1.7 per cent and prices up half a per cent. Imports rose 4.6 per cent to $39.4 billion, the fourth monthly increase in a row, with the volume of imports up 3.6 per cent.
On currency markets, the loonie fell on news of the lower trade surplus, losing 0.75 of a cent to 92.73 cents U.S., its lowest level in a year.
Meantime, the trade surplus with the United States, which takes a major portion of Canada's natural gas and crude oil exports, fell to $8.9 billion, down 8.25 per cent from $9.7 billion.
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