Canada Data Response GDP (Q1) The unexpected 0.6% annualised decline in first-quarter GDP suggests that the Bank of Canada's single 25 basis point rate cut in January may not have been enough insurance against the oil price slump... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada signals no change in rate outlook The Bank of Canada's policy statement this morning showed that it remains confident in its optimistic growth outlook and believes that the January rate cut was enough insurance against the oil price... 27th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Household debt becoming a burden The all-clear siren sounded by the Fraser Institute last week on household debt is misleading. The debt service metric they use only captures the interest cost portion of debt, which completely misses... 25th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response CPI (Apr.) & Retail Sales (Mar.) While headline inflation fell below the Bank of Canada's 1% to 3% target range in April , the ongoing impact of the weaker loonie meant that core inflation rate was still as high as 2.3%. The impact... 22nd May 2015 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch January interest rate cut likely not enough At next week's policy meeting we expect the Bank of Canada to keep its policy rate at 0.75%. Tighter financial conditions over the past month, however, may have it second guessing whether or not the... 20th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Construction employment losses likely only beginning The recent job losses in the construction sector are likely only a precursor of what's in store for the year ahead. Falling energy investment and cooling housing demand could form the perfect storm... 18th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Survey of Manufacturing (Mar.) Although the rebound in manufacturing sales in March was stronger than expected, this mainly reflected volatility in transportation, with little evidence of any underlying improvement. Accordingly... 15th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Teranet-National Bank House Prices (Apr.) The rate of house price inflation edged down to 4.4% in April, from 4.7%, and the existing home sales-to-new listings ratio indicates that some further slowing is likely in the coming months. 13th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Record current account deficit a cause for concern Canada's growing current account deficit probably hit a record high in the first quarter, as the impact of the recent slump in oil prices hit export revenues. The lower Canadian dollar will help to... 11th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Apr.) Although employment declined by a larger than expected 19,700 in April, the details showing strong full-time gains was reassuring, as was the fact that the unemployment rate remained at 6.8%... 8th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (Mar.) The widening of the merchandise trade deficit in March to C$3.0bn, from C$2.2bn, mostly reflected a decline in the terms of trade, whereas export and import volumes rebounded by a similar margin. For... 5th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Poloz singing from same old hymn book In his appearance before the House of Commons Finance Committee last week, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz reassured policymakers that the economy is showing signs of progress and that the... 4th May 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response GDP by Industry (Feb.) Although February's GDP stagnation was a more mild result than most expected, the details indicated that the fallout from the slump in oil prices hasn't really hit yet, while other parts of the non... 30th April 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Pace of payroll job gains likely to slow The faster pace of payroll job gains might normally be a more trustworthy gauge of labour market trends than the more volatile Labour Force Survey employment figures. The slowdown in real GDP growth... 27th April 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Chart Pack January rate cut won't be enough insurance The futures market indicates that most investors are now convinced by the Bank of Canada's view that the January interest rate cut will be enough to prevent the economy from being derailed by the... 21st April 2015 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Continued fiscal restraint will slow economy down Although the Conservative-led government fulfilled its pledge to eliminate the Federal budget deficit, fiscal restraint at this juncture seems unnecessary considering the negative fallout from the... 21st April 2015 · 1 min read
