Canada Data Response Retail Sales (Feb.) After a strong start to the year, retail sales volumes dropped back in February and the preliminary estimate implies they fell again in March. While consumption probably still rose at a healthy pace... 21st April 2023 · 2 mins read
Canada Economics Update Canada Housing Watch (Apr.) House prices edged up in March and the jump in the sales-to-new listing ratio implies they will rise further this quarter. With affordability still very stretched, we assume that there will be a... 19th April 2023 · 4 mins read
Canada Data Response Consumer Prices (Mar.) Base effects helped to pull headline inflation lower in March, but there were also encouraging signs in core inflation, as the average three-month annualised gain in CPI-trim and CPI-median fell to a... 18th April 2023 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly Macklem pushes back against rate cut expectations Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem used his press conference this week to push back against expectations for interest rate cuts later this year. That partly reflects the Bank’s less downbeat... 14th April 2023 · 6 mins read
Canada Data Response Manufacturing Sales (Feb.) After a bright start to the year, manufacturing activity weakened in February. While that was partly due to temporary factors that are likely to be quickly reversed, the surveys point to a challenging... 14th April 2023 · 2 mins read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada delivers mixed messages The Bank of Canada delivered a mixed message today, noting that it is more confident inflation will decline in the next few months, but less confident that inflation will fall all the way to 2.0% as... 12th April 2023 · 3 mins read
Canada Economics Weekly House price rebound would make Bank’s job harder The local real estate board data suggest that new listings fell again in March, defying expectations that high interest rates could lead to forced home sales. With supply falling by more than demand... 6th April 2023 · 4 mins read
Bank of Canada Watch Still pausing for thought The recent banking turmoil in the US means the Bank of Canada may sound more dovish next week, but the economy’s strong start to the year suggests it is too soon for the Bank to take further interest... 5th April 2023 · 7 mins read
Canada Economics Focus Is 2% core inflation feasible this year? Underlying inflation pressures are still well above the 2% mid-point of the Bank of Canada’s target range, but there are several reasons to expect disinflationary forces to build. We forecast that CPI... 5th April 2023 · 13 mins read
Global Economic Outlook From cost of living crisis to banking crisis? The strongest headwind for the global economy has shifted from an energy crisis and the related squeeze on real incomes to a potential banking crisis and associated drag on credit. Since banks are... 30th March 2023 · 46 mins read
Canada Chart Pack Lenders not immune to commercial property risks Canada’s banks do not face the same immediate risks as those elsewhere. The bank sector is far more concentrated than in the US, limiting the chance that problems at small lenders will trigger a... 30th March 2023 · 8 mins read
Canada Economic Outlook Full effects of high interest rates yet to be felt The economy made a strong start to 2023, but we continue to expect a moderate recession this year as high interest rates feed through and the banking issues in the US weigh on exports. The downturn... 29th March 2023 · 21 mins read
Canada Economics Update Government drops its fiscal anchor The 2023 Budget projects a much larger deficit than the prior Fall Economic Statement and, as a result, the government now agrees with our forecast that the debt-to-GDP ratio will rise. Roughly half... 28th March 2023 · 3 mins read
Bank of Canada Watch Too soon for pause to become permanent The fall in CPI inflation in January and stagnation in fourth-quarter GDP mean there is little chance of the Bank of Canada resuming interest rate hikes next week. But concerns about the tight labour... 1st March 2023 · 7 mins read