Canada's export growth slowed to around 2.0% annualised in the second quarter, from just over 6.0% in the first quarter, which would seem to refute hopes of an export-led pick-up in economic growth. Admittedly, with import growth slowing too, net exports at least weren't a drag on economic growth. Nevertheless, they provided very little support, which partly explains why we think that second-quarter GDP growth was only 1.5% annualised. Unfortunately, with US economic growth expected to improve only gradually this year, net export's contribution to growth will remain modest for a while longer yet.
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