U.S. Trade Deficits Improves While Canadian Trade Surplus Grows

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Meanwhile, here are the major economic headlines from the last week:

• The U.S. trade deficit narrowed for the second month in a row as imports declined in May due to lower demand for imports from U.S. households. Exports were up because of increased energy shipments. Specifically, the overall trade gap shrank 1.3 percent in April to May and now sits at $85.5 billion. The goods deficit fell $2.9 billion in May to $105 billion. The services surplus decreased $1.7 billion in May to $19.4 billion. Click here to read the full report.
• Canada’s merchandise trade deficit expanded to $5.3 billion in May, the largest trade surplus since August 2008. The improvement was largely due to higher energy prices. Exports increased 4.1 percent in May to $68.4 billion while imports were down 0.7 percent. Exports of energy products were up 5.7 percent, shipments of aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts category rose 34.2 percent, and exports of metal ores and non-metallic minerals increased 17.2 percent.
• The Canadian economy lost 43,000 jobs in June, but the nation’s jobless rate fell to 4.9 percent, the lowest level since 1976 and down from 5.1 percent in May. The decline in unemployment was due to fewer people looking for work. The 43,000 job loss was the first decline in employment in Canada this year. Click here to read the full report.
• The U.S. employers added 372,000 jobs in June and the national unemployment rate held steady at 3.6 percent. Manufacturers added 29,000 jobs in June. In related news: the number of job openings in the United States fell slightly in May, but still was close to record level. Specifically, the number of available positions decreased to 11.3 million in the month from an upwardly revised 11.7 million in April. Click here to read the full report.
• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 235,000 individuals filed for federal unemployment benefits during the week that ended July 2, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s level. The four-week moving average of first-time claims was 232,500, an increase of 750 from the previous week. During the week that ended June 25, 1.375 million individuals continued to receive jobless benefits, an increase of 51,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average of continuing claims was 1.335 million, an increase of 16,500 from one week before.