Pre-market futures trading is up slightly Thursday morning as investors absorb the impact of a flurry of economic releases. The economic news continues to be good in Canada and bad in the United States.

Consumer spending in Canadian retail stores edged up 0.2% in December to $25.9 billion, after falling 0.5% in November. December’s sales were particularly strong for furniture stores and auto dealers, while food stores posted moderate gains.

Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S. is up $8.3 billion, while its annual trade surplus with the rest of the world fell to its lowest level in three years in 2002, as merchandise exports for the year as a whole declined and imports rose.

On the other hand, exports of automotive products rose 4.5% to just under $97.1 billion. Many of those autos are being sent to the U.S.

Auto exports accounted for 24% of total exports in 2002, up from 22% the year before. Automotive products incurred 2002’s largest increase in imports, rising 12.3% to $81.4 billion. They represented 23% of all imports, up from 21% in 2001.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis is reporting a record trade deficit for December. The numbers show exports of US$81.2 billion and imports of US$125.4 billion resulting in a goods and services deficit of US$44.2 billion, US$4.2 billion more than the US$40 billion in November, revised.

Meanwhile, last week U.S. jobless claims grew to 402,000, up from 381,000 the previous week, exceeding analyst expectations.

Other bad news in the U.S. is the growing impact of increased oil prices, as seen in the January producer price index, which rose 1.6%. All of these factors combined are showing the impact of continued war worries on the American economy.

In Europe, markets are trading higher Thursday. The London FTSE 100 index is up 1.4%, gaining 51.3 points at 3,709.6. The German DAX is up 1%, while the Paris CAC-40 is flat.

In Asia, markets fell overnight. Tokyo’s Nikkei slid 27.52 points to 8,650.92. Strengthening of the yen against the American dollar and war hit buying sentiment. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 37.15 points to 9,390.48.