Consumer credit grew $14.16 billion

Week in review

CANADA: According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), employment jumped 48K in January, easily topping consensus which was looking for a decline of 10K. As a result, the jobless rate dropped one tick at 6.8% with the participation rate rising to 65.9% from 65.8%. The surge in January employment was mostly due to paid jobs (+40K) while self-employment registered an 8K rise. Paid employment gains were tilted to the private sector (+32K) while government (+8K) also posted a gain. The goods sector added just 6K jobs as gains in construction, agriculture and resources offset declines in manufacturing and utilities. Services sector employment jumped 43K with strength in several sectors. Part-time employment soared 32K, while full-time employment rose 16K. Total hours worked fell 0.6%, following a decline of 0.7% in December. Over the last six months the labour market, mostly driven by the services sector, has generated a massive 239K jobs. This was the strongest performance in 15 years. That being said, those gains have been tilted towards part-timers and hours worked have continued to decline. In other words, Canadian employers lately increased their headcount massively but their employees are working less intensively.

The merchandise trade balance recorded a surplus of C$0.9 billion in December, down slightly from an upwardly revised C$1 billion in November. The deterioration was due to nominal imports (+1%) growing faster than exports (+0.8%). Energy exports surged 15.9% solely on higher prices (volumes actually decreased) while imports fell sharply. As a result, the energy trade surplus jump to C$6.4 billion, its highest level since 2014. However, the non-energy trade deficit widened to C$5.4 billion. Overall export volumes were down following declines in several categories, including motor vehicles and parts. These more than offset gains in the aerospace section, which were boosted by deliveries of Bombardier's C-series aircraft. In real terms, Canada's exports retreated 1% while imports advanced 1.6%. For Q4 as a whole, real exports managed to grow 2.9% annualized as gains in energy, metal ores, mineral products, forestry, aerospace and electronics outweighed declines elsewhere. In contrast, real imports dropped 15.3% annualized. In other words, trade seems to have contributed to Canada's GDP growth in the fourth quarter of last year. For 2016 as a whole, the merchandise trade deficit amounted to a record C$26.1 billion.

In January, housing starts topped the 200K mark for a second month in a row, rising 1.1K units (+0.5%) month on month to 207.4K. In urban areas, multiple starts were up 5.0K (+4.2%) to 120.7K while single-detached starts decreased 3.1K (-4.6%) to 63.8K. Rural starts declined 0.8K units (-4.5%) to 17.7K. On a regional basis, increases in Ontario (+19.3K), Manitoba (+5.1K), Newfoundland and Labrador (+1.1K), New Brunswick (+0.4K), PEI (+0.3K) and Nova Scotia (+0.1K) were offset by declines in British Columbia (-12.9K), Alberta (-7.7K), Quebec (-2.4K) and Saskatchewan (-1.2K). The main reason housing starts exceeded 200K units for a second month running was that Ontario's multiple starts outside Toronto stayed at a high level by historical norms. That, together with a return to a robust level in Toronto, roughly offset declines in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. The 6-month moving average, a less volatile gauge of trends in the housing market, has held just below 200K for the past five months. We expect it to decline to 180K in 2017, a level more consistent with demographic needs and the more restrictive mortgage rules imposed by the federal government last year.

The value of building permits issued fell 6.6% month on month to C$7.2 billion in December after declining 1.2% the prior month. Permits were down 4.1% in the residential sector as the multi-unit and single-family segments sank 7.9% and 0.9%, respectively. The non-residential sector fared no better, dropping 11.5%. The total permit value retreated for all non-residential categories (industrial, commercial, and institutional).

UNITED STATES: The trade deficit narrowed to $44.3 billion in December from $45.7 billion the previous month. The improvement was due to exports (+2.7%) growing faster than imports (+1.5%). The swell in exports, the largest monthly gain in four years, comes as a positive surprise given that the U.S. dollar remains much more expensive today than it was a year ago. (Note that real exports are still down significantly in Q4.) In real terms, exports surged 3.6%, while imports sprang 1.5%. For 2016 as a whole, the trade deficit rose 0.4% from 2015 to $502.3 billion, its highest mark in four years. The United States has not run a trade surplus in 41 years. This, coupled with the fact that the trade deficit with Mexico just reached a five-year high in December, may reinforce President Trump's desire for more restrictive trade policies.

Consumer credit grew $14.16 billion in December, far short of the $20-billion increase expected. Revolving and nonrevolving credit were up $2.4 billion and $11.8 billion, respectively. Overall, consumer borrowing grew 6.4% year on year in 2016, its smallest increase in three years.

Job openings stayed virtually unchanged in December at 5.501 million according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This relatively high level was sustained by a low layoff rate (1.1%, up from 1.0% in November) and a high hire rate still close to its post-recession peak at 3.6%.

WORLD: In China, foreign currency reserves continued to dwindle in January. After seven consecutive months of decline, total reserves dipped below the psychological barrier of $3 trillion, reaching a six-year low of $2998.2 billion. Month over month, reserves were down $12.3 billion, a decrease softened by a positive valuation effect in the month. As the euro and the yen appreciated against the USD in January, total reserves, calculated in USD, suffered less than would have otherwise been the case. In 2016 as a whole, China burned $320 billion worth of reserves attempting to prop up the yuan and counterbalance investors' retreat from China in the face of slowing growth. This came after a one-year record drop in reserves in 2015 ($513 billion). Despite this large-scale intervention, the yuan gave up 6.6% against the USD in 2016 (though the currency has enjoyed some respite recently). Considered unassailable not so long ago, China's reserves now look vulnerable. If they continue to decline, the country's controlled exchange rate policy might be called into question once again. However, switching to a free-float system would likely result in a significant depreciation of the yuan. This would play into the hands of the new U.S. administration, which already perceives China's currency as artificially low.

Also in China, the trade balance jumped 26%, registering a $51.3 billion surplus in the month of January. Expressed in U.S. dollars, exports rose 7.9% year-on-year, while imports surged 16.7%. The weaker trade-weighted yuan means that those numbers look even better when expressed in local currency. Indeed, in yuan terms exports progressed 15.9% while imports registered a 25.2% increase. This data was positively skewed by two facts. First, the year on year readings refer to a particularly weak January last year. Second, there is a strong chance that Chinese factories rushed shipments ahead of the week-long New Year's holiday which started on January 30th. We should get a better idea of where China's trade balance stands once full Q1 data becomes available.

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