- Nick Exarhos, CIBC World Markets economist
Manufacturing sales in Canada rose for the second straight months and overshooting market expectations. Manufacturing sales rose 0.6% to $52 billion in June, following the upwardly revised 1.7% increase in the previous month, Statistics Canada reported. The main contributor to the gain was a 3% rise in non-durable goods sales, led by chemicals, petroleum and coal products as well as food industry.
Meanwhile, a revised version of previous report release showed the jobless rate in Canada fell to 7.0% in July, while the economy added 41,700 new jobs after losing as many as 9,400 jobs a month earlier. At the same time participation rate was unchanged at 66.1% in July. The full-time sector slashed 18,100 jobs in July, while the number of part-time workers advanced by 59,900 in the reported period. The recently released labour data support economists' forecasts of a stronger economic performance in the second half of 2014. The federal agency had said earlier that it had discovered a mistake in its jobs data originally released August 8, indicating the Canadian economy added a meagre 200 jobs. The Canadian Dollar strengthened, rising to two-week high versus the U.S counterpart, as revised jobs data for July exceeded past expectations. The Loonie was also supported amid solid manufacturing numbers.
© Dukascopy Bank SA