Canada Economics Weekly Canadian dollar rally isn’t a major threat to GDP growth Canada’s economy certainly has its growth challenges ahead, but the recent rally in the Canadian dollar isn’t a major threat to the economic growth outlook, partly because it has been accompanied by a... 22nd April 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Consumer Prices (Mar.) & Retail Sales (Feb.) The rise in the core inflation rate in March, to 2.1% from 1.9%, was stronger than expected but appears mainly due to the past depreciation of the Canadian dollar. As the weakness in the economy takes... 22nd April 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Manufacturing Sales (Feb.) Even after allowing for the sharp decline in the value of petroleum sales, the 3.3% m/m drop in manufacturing sales in February was twice as large as expected, with the drop in sales volumes hinting... 15th April 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Some things to keep in mind about Q1 GDP The strength of recent monthly GDP data has prompted some forecasters to revise up their growth forecasts for this year as a whole. But predictions of an acceleration in growth are, to our minds at... 15th April 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada will cut rates later this year The Bank of Canada’s decision to hold interest rates at 0.50% and to remain neutral on the rate outlook was largely in response to the improvement in economic growth early this year, fiscal stimulus... 13th April 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Darker business mood at odds with recent GDP rebound Despite glimmers of a revival in production, the mood among businesses across most sectors and regions has darkened due to shrinking real incomes and weak domestic demand, with the low level of... 8th April 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (Feb.) Despite February’s decline in export volumes, earlier gains mean that exports in Q1 asa whole grew quite strongly, easily outpacing imports. Net exports likely contributedas much as 3 percentage... 7th April 2016 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch Bank unlikely to shift on neutral interest rate outlook We expect the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates at 0.50% next week and maintain a neutral outlook for future policy changes. Despite the strong start to the year, policymakers indicated recently... 6th April 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Rebound in business intentions unconvincing The Bank of Canada's first-quarter survey on business intentions suggests that the worst might be over for Canada’s struggling economy, but we don’t anticipate any significant improvement this year... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Our key calls for this year Despite the recent resurgence in economic growth, we still expect the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates again, albeit not until much later this year. While widening interest rate differentials... 1st April 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response GDP by Industry (Jan.) The 0.6% m/m increase in January GDP, which was double the 0.3% m/m consensus estimate, was a very welcome surprise, particularly as the gain was so broad-based. We are not convinced the stronger tone... 31st March 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Liberal’s infrastructure spending won’t boost economy The Liberal government’s budget plan to lift the economy over the next two years with close to C$12bn in infrastructure funding will be a tall task, one that we would not count on to produce much... 24th March 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Federal stimulus budget won’t boost economy The 2016 Federal budget delivered today provides only a modest fiscal stimulus response to the flagging economy. Despite the more dismal GDP growth outlook this year, policymakers weren’t comfortable... 22nd March 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Canadian dollar rally won’t be sustained The recent rally in the Canadian dollar, which has been driven by rising oil prices and downgrades to the outlook for US interest rates, is unlikely to last beyond the middle of this year. Admittedly... 18th March 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Manufacturing Sales (Jan.) The much stronger than expected increase in manufacturing sales volumes in January is an encouraging start to the year, with the details reflecting stronger external demand and some resilience in... 16th March 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Is the end of the housing boom near? The housing boom has been a key support to the economy over the past few years, but its end is in sight. While media headlines focus on the continuing booms in Toronto and Vancouver, the fallout in... 11th March 2016 · 1 min read