RE:Fed speak today, again puts markets in downfallAdding to that , really poor economic data from Canada, last thing the country needs is more negative fundamentals for investment in Canada...
Canada’s economy lost momentum after a strong start to the year and is tracking below the central bank’s latest forecast, supporting expectations a first cut to interest rates could come before summer.
Preliminary data suggest gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced across the economy, was essentially unchanged in March, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
That follows 0.2% growth in February GDP from the month before to 2.218 trillion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of $1.624 trillion. That was softer than the data agency’s advance estimate a month ago of 0.4% growth and follows a downwardly revised 0.5% expansion in January. Compared with a year earlier, GDP in February increased 0.8%.
If March’s estimate stands when official numbers are released late next month, Canada managed industry-level growth of 2.5% annualized in the first quarter following growth in the prior quarter of 0.6% or a slightly stronger 1% when consumption figures not included in monthly GDP data is included. The Bank of Canada has forecast the economy will continue to strengthen this year after stalling in the second half of 2023, and has projected total annualized growth for the latest quarter of about 2.8%.
With growth in Canada waning after January’s jump, most economists don’t anticipate a rebound in the second quarter of the year that could derail the central bank from pivoting to rate cuts as soon as its next policy meeting in early June, provided inflation continues to cool. The growth Canada has seen in recent months has been bolstered by a booming population and recovery in consumer spending, but has come alongside an increasingly softer labor market and steady rise in unemployment.