U.S. and Canadian trade balances
U.S. Trade Deficit Catapults Higher Despite Tariff Policy
March 6, 2019
The U.S. goods and services trade deficit soared to a 122-month high in December of $59.8 billion. That was 18.8% greater than November’s deficit and embodied an $81.5 billion deficit from traded goods. The 2018 goods and services trade deficit equaled $621.0 billion, compared to $552.3 billion in 2017 and $502.0 billion in the last […] More
Stampede Out of Risky Assets
December 6, 2018
Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.9% overnight, and share prices are down even more sharply in the United States, Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Spain, China, Hong Kong. 10-year sovereign debt yields have climbed 14 and 10 basis points in Italy and Greece but fallen 8 bps in the U.K., 7 bps in the U.S., 5 bps in […] More
Market Disturbances
May 3, 2018
Share prices fell late yesterday in the wake of an FOMC statement that reinforced the possibility of faster, rather than slower, rate hike normalization. Overnight in the Pacific Rim, Japan’s string of Golden Week holidays resumed with Constitution Day, but stocks elsewhere fell 2.6% in Indonesia, 1.4% in Hong Kong, 1.1% in Singapore, 0.6% in […] More
Fear Time
February 6, 2018
FDR famously declared that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, and markets have been finding plenty of that since share prices crested at the end of the week ending January 26th. The DOW is already down nearly 1% today and has dropped 9.2% in just over six sessions. Tuesday equity losses […] More
Dollar and Sterling Strengthen but Oil Steps Back
December 6, 2016
The dollar is unchanged against the pound but up 0.4% against the yen, loonie, kiwi and Australian dollar. The U.S. currency also rose 0.2% overnight relative to the euro and Swiss franc. An appeal is being heard in British courts regarding the legality of leaving the EU based solely on a voter referendum. Sterling has […] More
U.S. and Canadian Trade Figures in 2011
February 10, 2012
U.S. exports of goods and services leaped 33.6% between 2009 and 2011. Last year’s census-basis merchandise trade deficit widened $91.4 billion, or 14.4%. Growth in the bilateral deficit with the euro area accounted for 25.0% of the overall deficit’s incremental growth last year, marginally more than the 24.5% share of additional deterioration attributable to trade […] More
North American Data
June 9, 2011
The United States and Canada released April trade figures. The headline U.S. goods and services deficit looked encouraging, contracting $3.1 billion or 6.7%, but the census-basis merchandise trade shortfall only narrowed $15 million (0.03%) and was concentrated in an 11.5% decline in the deficit with OPEC. The deficit with China was $3.5 billion wider in […] More
U.S. and Canadian Trade Figures
March 10, 2011
The U.S. and Canadian trade balances, which oftentimes move in opposite directions on a month to month basis, each worsened in January. Each country experience very strong import expansion. The U.S. goods and services deficit of USD 46.341 billion was the largest since last June, 15.1% wider than December’s imbalance and 33.8% greater than the […] More
