07:49 AM EDT, 08/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Bank of Montreal noted that Canada will publish the current account figures for Q2 on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The bank said the current account deficit looks to widen a touch to C$5.7 billion (C$22.8 billion a.r.) in Q2, as the merchandise trade shortfall deteriorated further. While imports rose faster than exports, the latter received a long-awaited boost from the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline near the end of the quarter.

The additional shipments should continue supporting energy exports in Q3 and beyond, stated BMO. Meantime, the Q2 deterioration was partially offset by a narrower services deficit.

The bank's estimate for the current account shortfall would amount to just under 0.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) -- the latter figures will be released on Friday, near the low end of the pre-pandemic range.

Also, the payroll survey (SEPH) for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. In May, the job vacancy rate slipped a tenth to 3.1%, matching the lowest level since early 2018, while payroll employment expanded by 41,000 (or +1.1% y/y). The Labour Force Survey (LFS) showed employment (excluding self-employed) up 10,000 in May (+2.1% y/y), but down 9,000 in June (+1.6%) and a further 1,000 in July (+1.7%).

The US dollar (USD) is softer (BBDXY -0.11%) with the Canadian dollar (CAD or loonie) firmer (CAD per USD -0.21%), added BMO.