The difference between imports and exports of goods. Merchandise Trade differentiates itself from Trade Balance because it does not record intangibles like services, only reporting on physical goods. Because exports of tangibles like oil, gold and manufacturing contribute to a large part of Canada 's GDP, trade data can give critical insight into developments in the economy and into foreign exchange rates.

Negative International Merchandise Trade (deficit) indicates that imports of goods are greater than exports. When exports are greater than imports, Canada experiences a trade surplus. Trade surpluses indicate that funds are coming into Canada in exchange for exported goods. Because such exported goods are usually purchased with Canadian dollars, trade surpluses usually reflect currency flowing into Canada, such currency inflows may lead to a natural appreciation of a the Canadian dollar, unless countered by similar capital outflows (Canadian International Securities Transactions tracks such capital flows). At a bare minimum, surpluses will buoy the value of the currency.

There are a number of factors that work to diminish the market impact of Canadian Merchandise Trade on markets. The report is not very timely, released about three months after the reporting quarter. Developments in many of the components that comprise the figure are also usually well anticipated. Lastly, since the report reflect data for a specific reporting quarter, any significant changes in the Merchandise Trade should plausibly have been already felt during that quarter and not during the release of data. But because of the overall significance of Trade on Foreign Exchange Rates, the figure has a history of being one of the more important reports out of Canada .

The headline figure for trade balance is expressed in millions of Canadian dollars and usually accompanied by a year-on-year percentage change figure.

Relevance : Tends to move markets on release
Release Schedule : 8:30 AM (EST); monthly, on the second week of each month
Revision Schedule: Monthly
Source of Report : Statistics Canada
Web Address : http://www.statcan.ca/start.html
Address of Release : http://www.statcan.ca/english/Release/index.htm
Refer current year > Canadian International Merchandise Trade
AKA: Merchandise Imports and Exports