Canada’s first-quarter current account surplus rose to a record $12.7 billion, far exceeding expectations of $7.3 billion. Trade in goods, rather than services, gets the credit for the jump in overall surplus. “Two factors were at play here: a retreat in imports and extensive data revisions,” says RBC Dominion Securities.

Although a sluggish U.S. economy left its mark on Canadian exports, imports retreated by a substantial 3.1% from the previous quarter,” RBC DS says.

Energy goods led exports to the U.S. Imports slipped with domestic demand for communications equipment and autos falling off. The other components were not changed much. The services deficit narrowed a little, and the investment income deficit was static.

“It was also discovered that there was a significant amount of under-reporting of exports to countries other than the U.S., extending back to 1997. The current account surplus for 2000 alone was underestimated by $5 billion.”

“The current account to GDP ratio is now at an unprecedented 4.6%, in stark contrast to the deficits reported in all other dollar bloc countries, particularly the U.S.” Although DS cautions that this isn’t about to bail out the loonie just yet. “The currency, however, will need a convincing recovery in global growth and non-energy commodity prices to truly benefit from this advantageous position.”