Canada Economics Weekly Higher oil price unlikely to spur investment boom The US decision to exit the Iran nuclear accord pushed crude oil prices up to four-year highs this week, but prices are probably still too low to trigger a renewed investment boom in the Canadian oil... 11th May 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Apr.) The unexpected 1,100 decline in employment in April is probably nothing to worry about given the strength of the gains in recent months and that unseasonably bad weather last month may have played a... 11th May 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Poloz far too sanguine on debt build-up Earlier this week, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz gave a remarkably sanguine speech on the build-up in household debt. He concluded that, although record-high debt represented a risk and means... 4th May 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (Mar.) The widening in the trade deficit to a record high of $4.1bn in March, from $2.9bn, was not as bad as it seems since exports increased by 3.7% m/m and, although imports increased by a very strong 6.0%... 3rd May 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response GDP by Industry (Feb.) The 0.4%m/m rebound in monthly GDP in February, which was slightly stronger than the 0.3% consensus estimate, will renew speculation that the Bank of Canada will resume raising interest rates soon... 1st May 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly NAFTA deal would boost foreign investment This week brought a furious last-minute push from all sides to reach a provisional deal on updating NAFTA, ahead of July’s Mexican presidential election. The US congressional mid-term elections won’t... 27th April 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Chart Pack Households already being squeezed by higher rates Consumption growth was the key driver behind the Canadian economy’s recent strength, particularly in the first half of last year. Since mid-2017, however, retail sales volumes have largely stagnated... 25th April 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Oil price surge having only limited impact on dollar The recent resurgence in oil prices should be good news for Canada but, since it is partly due to a temporary spike in geopolitical tensions, we expect prices to fall back later this year. Domestic... 20th April 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Consumer Price Index (Mar.) & Retail Sales (Feb.) The headline CPI inflation rate edged up to a three-year high of 2.3% in March, from 2.2%, but the Bank of Canada will be relieved to see that its new core inflation measures remained largely... 20th April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Outlook Too soon to worry about supply Commodity prices have generally had a strong start to the year, boosted in particular by risks to supply. However, in many cases, supply has not been disrupted yet and the worst fears of supply... 20th April 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada moving to side lines The Bank of Canada left its key policy rate unchanged at 1.25% at today's Governing Council meeting and, although the markets still anticipate a further 25bp rate hike later this year, we think the... 18th April 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Manufacturing Sales (Feb.) The 1.9% m/m rebound in manufacturing sales in February means that the factory sector made a solid contribution to first-quarter economic growth but, looking further ahead, the softness of unfilled... 17th April 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Business Outlook Survey (Q1) The latest Business Outlook Survey could unnerve the Bank of Canada since it suggests that GDP growth will slow to below potential this year, while at the same time there are clear signs of mounting... 9th April 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly NAFTA deal wouldn't lead to higher interest rates The US administration appears to be pushing hard to get a deal done on NAFTA, reigniting speculation of further interest rate increases from the Bank of Canada. Even if a trade deal is done, however... 6th April 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (Mar.) Despite the recent slowdown in economic growth, the labour market churned out a solid 32,300 gain in employment in March, enough to keep the unemployment rate at its ten-year low of 5.8%. Hourly wages... 6th April 2018 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (Feb.) The widening of the trade deficit in February isn’t a big concern because it was driven by an increase in imports, which points to growth in domestic demand. The small rebound in exports, which comes... 5th April 2018 · 1 min read
