Canadians got a morsel of encouraging economic news yesterday as the monthly trade surplus increased to $1.1 billion.
But another report showed an ongoing swelling in the ranks of the bankrupt. Insolvencies in March totalled 14,244, up 15.6 per cent from February and 51.3 per cent from March of last year.
The $1.1-billion surplus in Canada’s merchandise trade with the world was quadruple the $262-million surplus in February and more than double the $500 million expected by economists.
“Too bad that it (trade surplus) came for all the wrong reasons,” said Krishen Rangasamy of CIBC World Markets. “March’s surplus was entirely due to a large drop in imports, which signifies weakening domestic demand, and the drop in exports emphasizes that global demand is still very weak.”
