Canada Economics Weekly Extent of wildfire disruption about to become clearer This is the week that we will finally discover just how badly the economy was hit by the Alberta wildfires in May, which caused the shutdown of the majority of oil production in the Fort McMurray area... 22nd July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Consumer Prices (Jun.) & Retail Sales (May) The surprisingly resilient 0.2% m/m gain in retail sales in May, which was above the consensus forecast of no change, means that monthly GDP probably only contracted by 0.3% m/m despite the disruption... 22nd July 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Watch Glut of oil products to weigh on demand for crude The tightening of the oil market since the start of the year has been the main driver of the price rally over the last few months. However, there are valid concerns that stocks of oil products are... 21st July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Participation rate will fall further The decline in the unemployment rate to an 11-month low of 6.8% in June, from 7.1% as recently as April, is not as good as it looks. It went down primarily because people gave up looking for work not... 15th July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Manufacturing Sales (May) The 1.0% m/m decline in manufacturing sales in May was only partly due to the Alberta wildfires and that nominal decline was flattered by a rebound in energy prices. In volume terms, sales fell by a... 15th July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Chart Pack Economic growth already fading again After a brief surge at the start of this year, GDP growth has already slowed markedly in recent months. (See Chart.) Unfortunately, the recent limited rebound in commodity prices won’t be enough to... 14th July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Update Bank of Canada cuts GDP growth forecast The Bank of Canada shocked no-one with its decision to leave its key policy rate unchanged at 0.50% today, but we still anticipate that it will eventually be forced to cut rates again, probably in the... 13th July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Teranet-National Bank House Prices (Jun.) When the next edition of Charles Kindleberger’s Manias, Panics and Crashes is released , Canada’s housing market will warrant its own chapter. According to Teranet , the 11-city house price index... 13th July 2016 · 1 min read
Energy Update Fewer disruptions to oil supplies should limit price gains The return of production from Canada and Nigeria along with a potential increase in output from Libya over the next few months should put some downward pressure on prices. 13th July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Business investment not coming to the rescue The latest Bank of Canada surveys support our view that falling business investment, particularly in the oil and gas sector, will weigh on the economy in the second half of the year. Making matters... 8th July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response Labour Force Survey (June 2016) The 700 decline in employment in June was below consensus expectations of a 5,000gain, in part because of a fall back in the number of public administration workers asthe majority of temporary census... 8th July 2016 · 1 min read
Bank of Canada Watch Bank unlikely to act despite downgrade to GDP forecast Despite an apparent return to below-potential GDP growth and the financial market turmoil triggered by the UK's decision to leave the EU, we expect the Bank of Canada to leave its policy rate... 6th July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response International Merchandise Trade (May) The merchandise trade deficit was broadly unchanged at C$3.3bn in May, thanks in part to an upward revision to the April figure. Despite the disruptions to oil sands production from the Alberta... 6th July 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Brexit is the least of Canada’s worries The UK referendum vote to leave the European Union has triggered a renewed turmoil in financialmarkets, but we doubt the decision will damage Canada’s economy in any meaningful way. Despitethe strong... 30th June 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Data Response GDP by Industry (Apr.) The muted 0.1% m/m gain in real GDP in April, while in line with consensus expectations, is disappointing since it follows contractions in both February and March. Furthermore, the raging wildfires... 30th June 2016 · 1 min read
Canada Economics Weekly Economic growth continues to misfire This week we expect to learn that monthly real GDP increased by a muted 0.1% m/m in April. Given that GDP contracted in both February and March, however, that would represent a disappointing rebound... 24th June 2016 · 1 min read
