"This weakening has coincided with the suspension of oil sands production in the face of wildfires through much of Alberta that is expected to send overall GDP growth into negative territory in the second quarter".
-RBC
A monthly survey of purchasing managers suggests the outlook for Canada's manufacturing sector has become slightly less positive than it was in May. The RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index, a measure of manufacturing business conditions, dipped to a seasonally adjusted 51.8 last month from 52.1 in May. It was the fourth month in a row for the index to register more than 50.0, signaling that purchasing managers at Canadian manufacturing companies see signs of expansion in the coming months. There was no consensus forecast and the market reaction was limited. The need to re-build inventories should help protect manufacturing from a sustained downturn over the next few months.
Accordingly, one of the major drags on the headline PMI was slower output growth. The output index fell to 51.5 from May's 11-month high of 52.8. Economic indicators show the Canadian economy continues to struggle with the impact of cheaper oil, a major export for the country. Data released last week showed only modest growth in the economy in April after two months of declines, paving the way for a sickly second quarter on the back of the devastation caused by major wildfires in Alberta.
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