Economic News and Forecasts
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BoC Raises Rates as Expected
Jul 13, 2023 | Economic News and ForecastsThe Bank of Canada (BoC) raised its key overnight rate by 25 basis points to 5.00% yesterday. This increase, which follows a similar one in June (below), was widely expected. The BoC's announcement pointed to stronger-than-expected growth in the economy this year...
April GDP and May GDP Estimate Released
Jun 30, 2023 | Economic News and ForecastsStatistics Canada issued the GDP report for April today, showing no change from March. Note, however, that April saw the strike at CRA, and this pulled GDP down; without the strike, GDP would likely have increased again, by about 0.1%...
Inflation Slows in May, But Is It Enough?
Jun 27, 2023 | Economic News and ForecastsStatistics Canada released the May inflation figures today. The headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 3.4% in May (vs. May 2022), down from April's 4.4%. However, excluding gasoline, the May increase was 4.4% following April's 4.9%...
Bank of Canada Boosts Bank Rate
Jun 7, 2023 | Economic News and ForecastsIn a move that caught several pundits off guard, the Bank of Canada (BoC) raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%. What was surprising was the timing - many felt that, while an increase was in the cards, it wouldn't happen until the July meeting...
Q1 2023 GDP Surprise!
Jun 1, 2023 | Economic News and ForecastsStatistics Canada announced the Q1 GDP results yesterday - GDP grew by an annualized 3.1% in the quarter (versus the estimate of 2.4% noted in the article below), driven almost entirely by January growth (revised upward again to 0.7%) - March was flat (0.0% change)...
February GDP, January GDP Revision and March/Q1 Projection
Apr 28, 2023 | Economic News and ForecastsStatistics Canada came out with a basket of news today - some good, some not so good, but nothing outright bad or ugly. January GDP was revised upward to 0.6% from 0.5%. For February, growth was a more modest 0.1% - well down from their flash estimate of 0.5%...
January GDP Up by 0.5%
Mar 31, 2023 | Economic News and ForecastsStatistics Canada released January 2023 GDP, showing a 0.5% increase over December. Seventeen of twenty industrial sectors posted increases, indicating the gains were fairly evenly spread. Non-residential building construction grew by 0.3% - it's second consecutive rise...
Q4 GDP Results Released by Statistics Canada
Feb 28, 2023 | Economic News and ForecastsStatsCan today released the 4th quarter GDP results, showing no increase in economic activity in the thrid quarter. Year-over-year, preliminary results indicate the economy grew by 3.4%, led by a 4.8% increase in household consumption...
Bank of Canada Interest Rate Setting Lower Thank Expected - Is That a Good Thing?
Oct 26, 2022 | Economic News and ForecastsThe Bank of Canada (BoC) is full of surprises. At today's interest rate announcement, it increased the benchmark rate by 50 basis points, to 3.75%. This is less than the 75 basis points hike that had been expected...
Creeping Towards Recession? July GDP Results, August Flash Forecast, Released
Sep 29, 2022 | Economic News and ForecastsStatistics Canada released July GDP figures today. Month over month, GDP grew by 0.1%, as compared with their earlier flash estimate of a decline of 0.1%. Construction overall was down 0.2%; unfortunately, no separate information on ICI construction was available...