Canada Economics Update Budget 2022 could exacerbate inflationary pressures The government looks set to use its 2022 budget next week to outline a further increase in spending. While this will be modest in the context of the stimulus provided during the pandemic, it comes at... 29th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Can the housing market handle higher interest rates? The rise in mortgage rates implied by our new higher policy rate forecasts would reduce affordability by 12% over the next year which, in isolation, is not especially alarming when considering that... 17th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Canada Economics Update Current account set for largest surplus since 2006 The surge in commodity prices means that, after ending last year in deficit, the current account is set to move into a surplus of around 1.5% of GDP in the first half of this year. 10th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Canada Economics Update Higher forecasts for GDP, inflation and interest rates Surging commodity prices have led us to substantially increase our forecasts for consumer price inflation, but the negative impact of higher prices on household purchasing power, and therefore real... 9th March 2022 · 5 mins read
Canada Economics Update Assessing the impact of the war in Ukraine for Canada Higher commodity prices and stronger immigration from Ukraine are potential benefits for Canada’s economy from the war in Ukraine, but there is a risk that near-term real GDP growth disappoints due to... 2nd March 2022 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Bank hikes by 25bp but holds off from QT The Bank of Canada’s decision to raise interest rates by 25bp today was widely expected and the statement supports our view that it will follow up with another hike next month, but there was little... 2nd March 2022 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Weak investment highlights long-run challenges Business investment has been much weaker in Canada than the US since the pandemic, which helps to explain why productivity growth has lagged. There are reasons to be optimistic about the next couple... 16th February 2022 · 4 mins read
Canada Economics Update What if oil prices remain higher than we expect? Higher oil prices would not provide as large a boost to the Canadian economy as in the past but, at a time when GDP is already set to rise above potential and inflation is well above target, they... 9th February 2022 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada could sell assets sooner than most One challenge for central banks as they consider reducing the size of their balances sheets is that, if they sell assets bought during the pandemic, they will likely face a financial loss. This is... 3rd February 2022 · 5 mins read
Canada Economics Update Bank stands pat but rate hike coming in March The Bank of Canada kept policy unchanged today but judges that the conditions to start raising interest rates have now been met, suggesting that it will hike its policy rate at the next meeting in... 26th January 2022 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Will the Bank of Canada hike this month? We expect the Bank of Canada to wait for the coronavirus restrictions to be lifted before starting to raise interest rates, suggesting it is more likely to begin hiking in March or April than at its... 12th January 2022 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Five key calls and five unknowns for Canada in 2022 We expect GDP to grow strongly once the current restrictions are eased, but we are sceptical that either GDP growth or inflation will be as high this year as widely anticipated. This leads us to think... 6th January 2022 · 5 mins read
Canada Economics Update Restrictions may not derail Bank’s tightening plans The closure of many high-contact services in Quebec yesterday is likely to soon be matched by tighter coronavirus restrictions elsewhere. That said, if other provinces also allow stores and... 21st December 2021 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Government fails to deliver on election pledges The government’s fall fiscal update suggests the public finances will be in a better position in the coming years than we had assumed, but this is largely because the government chose not to deliver... 14th December 2021 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Bank’s updated framework maintains the status quo The Bank of Canada’s updated policy framework will not have a material effect on policy over the next couple of years, but it does support our forecast that inflation will be slightly higher on... 13th December 2021 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Update Bank keeps policy rate guidance unchanged The Bank of Canada’s unchanged policy rate guidance implies it could wait until the third quarter before raising rates but, given wage growth is now picking up sharply, we expect it to pull the... 8th December 2021 · 3 mins read
