Bank of Canada Holds Rates Steady Acknowledging Economic Slowdown With last Friday’s publication of the anemic second-quarter GDP data, it was obvious that the Bank of Canada would refrain from raising rates at today’s meeting. Economic activity declined by 0.2% in Q2; the first quarter growth estimate decreased from 3.1% to 2.6%. Today’s press release announced, “The Canadian economy has […]
Rate Hikes Are Definitely Off The Table The Canadian economy weakened surprisingly more in the second quarter than the market and the Bank of Canada expected. Real GDP edged downward by a 0.2% annual rate in Q2. The consensus was looking for a 1.2% rise. The modest decline followed a downwardly revised 2.6% growth pace in Q1. (Originally, Q1 growth […]
Housing Market Sales Dipped in July, Spooked By Rate Hikes According to Shaun Cathcart, the Canadian Real Estate Association’s Senior Economist, “Following a brief surge of activity in April, housing markets have settled down in recent months, with price growth now also moderating with its usual slight lag. Sales and price growth are already showing signs of tapering off further in […]
July Headline Inflation Rose to 3.3%, But Core Inflation Improved The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.3% y/y in July, up from a 2.8% rise in June. The acceleration in headline inflation was widely expected due to a base-year effect on gasoline prices, as a sizeable monthly decline in July 2022 (-9.2%) no longer impacts the 12-month movement. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 4.1% from 4.0% in […]
The Long-Awaited Labour Market Slowdown The Canadian economy shed 6,400 jobs in July, far weaker than the 25,000 gain that was expected. The jobless rate was 5.5%, the third consecutive monthly rise. This likely improves the chances the Bank of Canada will remain on the sidelines in September. Wage inflation, however, re-accelerated, moving back to 5.0%. This, combined with the […]