Canada exports rise on weak dollar, pharmaceutical products

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Canada exports rise on weak dollar, pharmaceutical products

Canada's exports rose in October due to the weak Canadian dollar and pharmaceutical products, as well as increased imports, according to the data released this week.

Statistics Canada said in October that the country's global surplus trade grew to C $1.21 billion, slightly above the forecasts of a C $1.20 billion surplus.

Statscan also said that exports rose 1.5 percent due to higher exports of medicinal products, gold bars and coins to the US, up 0.1 percent by volume, while imports rose 0.6 percent by volume, but were down 0.9 percent by volume.

In a note, Shelly Kaushik, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, stated that Canada's merchandise trade surplus widened in October, with a weaker Canadian dollar providing a helping hand. Trade volume seems to have added to growth in the month. In October, Canadian exports fell by 1.3 percent and imports decreased 2.2 percent, because of a large share of Canada's trade in US dollars, meaning converted values are higher with a weak Canadian dollar.

Stephen Brown, of Capital Economics, said that the sector is beginning to struggle with the weaker external demand despite the essentially unchanged level of export volumes in October, despite a big boost from higher agricultural exports.