August Inflation Hotter Than Expected In Canada

August Inflation Hotter Than Expected Canada’s inflation rate accelerated more than expected for the second consecutive month, mainly driven by higher gasoline prices. This will not be a one-month wonder as gasoline prices rose further in September.  The consumer price index increased 4.0% in August from one year ago, the fastest pace since April, after a […]

Canadian Home Sales Dipped In August Following BoC Rate Hikes

Home Sales Dipped Once Again Last Month In The Wake of Two Consecutive BoC Rate Hikes Not surprisingly, buyers moved to the sidelines last month as the central bank took the overnight policy rate up to 5.0%. Home sales posted a 4.1% decline between July and August, well below the 10-year moving average shown in […]

August Job Growth Beat Expectations

August Jobs Report Beat Expectations Following a marked decline in employment in July, Statistics Canada reported a gain of 40,000 net new jobs in August. Hiring increased in professional, scientific and technical services and construction and declined in educational services and manufacturing. Population growth outpaced the growth in net new employment, depressing the employment rate […]

Bank of Canada Holds The Overnight Policy Rate Steady at 5%

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 […]

Rate Hikes Off The Table With Weak Q2 GDP Growth In Canada

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 […]

Canadian Headline Inflation Rises to 3.3%, But Core Inflation Shows Promise

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 […]

Canadian Home Sales Dipped In July, New Listings Rose, And Prices Edged Up Modestly

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 […]

Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report Portends No Rate Hike By BoC

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 […]

CPI Inflation Falls To 2.8%–Inside the BoC’s Target Range

Canadian Inflation Falls Within Bank of Canada’s Target Range, but Food and Shelter Costs Remain High June inflation data released today by Statistics Canada showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.8% year-over-year (y/y), slightly below expectations. This was the lowest CPI reading since February 2022. The decline in inflation was mainly due to lower […]