Strong May Housing Triggered BoC Rate Hike The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in May rose 5.1% month-over-month (m/m), adding to the 11.1% gain in April. This brought the year-over-year sales gain to 1.4%, The first y/y sales increase in almost two years. While spring home sales started booming (compared to the past year), the surprising 25 bps […]
May’s Softer Labour Market Data Ended The Longest Run Of Job Gains Since 2017 Ironically, the May Labour Force Survey showed a modest slowdown two days after the Bank of Canada surprised the markets by raising interest rates. Employment was little changed in May, down 17,300, all for youth aged 15 to 24. All other age cohorts enjoyed continued rapid […]
Holy Smokes, The Bank of Canada Means Business If there were any doubt that the Bank of Canada wanted inflation to fall to 2%, it would be obliterated today. In a relatively surprising move, the Bank hiked the overnight policy rate by 25 bps to 4.75%, and an equivalent hike will follow in the prime rate. Fixed mortgage rates had […]
The Canadian economy continues to show marked resilience to high-interest rates. Statistics Canada released data this morning showing real GDP rose at an above-consensus 3.1% annual rate in the first quarter of this year. The estimate for April growth was also firm, a harbinger of continued strength in Q2. The combined drags of the public sector strike and the Alberta wildfires didn’t cause […]
The Canadian inflation rate accelerated for the first time in nearly a year The slight upward movement in the latest Canadian inflation numbers is an indication that the road to the central bank’s 2% target will be a “bumpy” one, according to economist Sherry Cooper (pictured). Fresh numbers from Statistics Canada showed an uptick in the consumer price index from […]