Bank of Canada set to make the first interest rate cut of easing cycle

June 04, 2024 |Nathan Janzen and Claire Fan
Evidence has continued to build that the current high level of interest rates is no longer needed. All ducks appear to be in a row for the Bank of Canada (BoC) to kick-start the policy easing cycle and lower the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4...
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Proof Point: A weaker Canadian dollar won’t necessarily derail BoC interest rate cuts

Proof Point: A weaker Canadian dollar won’t necessarily derail BoC interest rate cuts

May 01, 2024 |Nathan Janzen and Claire Fan
Proof point: The timing and magnitude of interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada will be determined by domestic economic and inflation conditions and not the gap in monetary policy with the U.S. Federal Reserve or the value of the Canadian dollar....
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How lowering the number of non-permanent residents will impact Canada’s economy

How lowering the number of non-permanent residents will impact Canada’s economy

April 05, 2024 |Nathan Janzen
Federal government efforts to limit non-permanent resident arrivals will likely slow the pace of gross domestic product growth in 2025 and beyond. However, per-capita GDP, the unemployment rate, broader inflation pressures, and interest rate expectations...
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BoC holds rates steady in March

BoC holds rates steady in March

March 07, 2024 |Claire Fan, Economist, Royal Bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada (BoC) held the overnight rate unchanged for a fifth consecutive meeting, extending a pause that started after the last hike in July last year. 

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Proof Point: Weak productivity is threatening Canada’s post-pandemic wage growth

February 28, 2024 |Nathan Janzen
Canadian wage growth has been unusually high, but looks more modest when measured against surging inflation and relative to acute labour shortages earlier in the pandemic recovery. Now lagging productivity in Canada (along with a softening labour market...
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End of the correction? Canada’s housing market is warming up

End of the correction? Canada’s housing market is warming up

February 14, 2024 |Robert Hogue
It may be the unusually mild weather or the modest drop in fixed mortgage rates since November—or both—but Canadian house hunters have more energy this winter. Importantly, they’re landing more deals. Home resales in Canada increased for the second month...
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U.S. labour market ended the year with strength

U.S. labour market ended the year with strength

January 05, 2024 |Claire Fan, Economist, Royal Bank of Canada
US labour market data ended 2023 with strength. Payroll employment was up 216k in December while the unemployment rate held at 3.7% after declining to that level the prior month. As was the case for much of the year, the employment gain in December was...
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Canadian labour markets ended 2023 with a whimper

January 05, 2024 |Nathan Janzen, Assistant Chief Economist, Royal Bank of Canada
The December labour market data was mixed, but on balance adds to evidence that economic activity remained soft through Q4. Employment was essentially unchanged in December, the softest reading since a 6k decline last July. And the unemployment rate held...
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Black Friday spending surprised to the upside despite a softening macro backdrop

Black Friday spending surprised to the upside despite a softening macro backdrop

December 11, 2023 |Carrie Freestone
Retail sales ticked up in November in the midst of the holiday shopping period. Even after adjusting for inflation, real retail sales (excluding autos) were tracking an increase relative to October. Clothing stores and gasoline were responsible for the...
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Canadian Inflation pressures showing further signs of easing

November 21, 2023 |Nathan Janzen, Assistant Chief Economist, Royal Bank of Canada
Most of the drop in Canadian headline CPI growth to 3.1% year over year in October (just a touch above Bank of Canada’s 1% - 3% inflation target range) came from a 4.5% month over month decline in gasoline prices. That decline also pushed year-over-year...
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