Canada: Trade deficit expands to $1.4 billion in March vs. $2 billion expected

• Canada's trade deficit widens less than expected in March.
• USD/CAD pair continues to trade in red below 1.4050.

Canada's trade deficit expanded to $1.4 billion in March from $894 million in February, the monthly data published by Statistics Canada showed on Tuesday. This reading came in better than the market expectation for a deficit of $2 billion.

"Canada's merchandise exports fell 4.7% to $46.3 billion in March, the lowest level since January 2018," the press release read. "Total imports declined 3.5% to $47.7 billion, a level not observed since October 2017. Both exports and imports were down almost 10% on a year-over-year basis."

Market reaction

The USD/CAD pair's reaction to this data was muted and was last seen trading at 1.4036, down 0.33% on the day.