Market Wire, North America

As had been widely anticipated, the Bank of Canada held its benchmark overnight rate at 5 percent this morning, but language in the accompanying statement tilted in a modestly-dovish direction, helping ratify market expectations for rate cuts in early 2024.  Officials acknowledged signs of weakness in the economy, saying “Higher interest rates are clearly restraining spending: consumption growth in the last two quarters was close to zero, and business investment has been volatile but essentially flat over the past year”. Government spending and new home construction were highlighted as helping cushion downside risks, but labour markets were seen softening, with...

The Canadian job creation engine topped forecasts in November, firming expectations for another hold at the Bank of Canada’s meeting next week. 25,000 new positions were added in the month, with population growth and still-high participation rates pushing the unemployment rate to 5.8 percent, up from 5.7 percent in October. Consensus estimates had pointed to a 15,000 new hires, with unemployment rising to 5.8 percent. The finance, insurance, and real estate sectors – the most interest-rate sensitive areas of the Canadian economy – suffered the bulk of the losses, shedding 18,000 jobs in the month, and contributing the most to...