Canadian Dollar Rebounds as Trade Surplus Expands
The Canadian dollar saw a slight rebound on Tuesday morning, recovering from its 18-month low against the U.S. dollar. At 8:39 a.m. CDT, the loonie was trading at US$0.7025, or US$1=C$1.4235, up from Monday's close of US$0.7016.
Canada's merchandise trade surplus expanded to C$4.2 billion in August, up from C$787 million in July. This increase was driven by a 2.5% rise in exports and a 2.0% drop in imports, according to Statistics Canada. Exports to the U.S. surged to C$11.2 billion from C$6.1 billion, while imports of U.S. goods fell by 2.5%.
Service exports also rose by 0.7% to C$21.1 billion, while imports decreased by 0.4% to C$20.7 billion. This shift widened the trade surplus in services to C$400 million from C$200 million.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices dropped by 1.5% to US$88.06 per barrel. The TSX Composite Index climbed 91.14 points to reach 35,606.69 at 8:39 a.m. CDT.