Canada April CPI - Excluding energy inflation is falling

May 19, 2026 12:59 PM UTC

April Canadian CPI is clearly softer than expected, with the acceleration to 2.8% yr/yr from 2.5% due to a drop in the year ago base due to the abolition of the carbon tax. Current energy strength is being offset by weakness elsewhere. The Bank of Canada’s three core rates are all softer, with CPI

Preview: Due May 29 - Canada Q1/March GDP - Domestic demand to lead a modest bounce

May 15, 2026 3:37 PM UTC

We expect Q1 Canadian GDP to increase by 1.4% annualized, in line with a 1.5% forecast seen in April’s Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report. We expect March GDP to be unchanged, consistent with a preliminary estimate made with February data. Unchanged March GDP and no revisions to January or Febr

Bank of Canada Minutes from April 29 - Tightening a real risk if oil fails to fall as assumed

May 13, 2026 6:11 PM UTC

The Bank of Canada has released minutes from the April 29 meeting, which are likely to maintain market fears that should oil prices remain elevated, the BoC will tighten later in the year. However, on a central scenario more in line with that of the BoC, we continue to see the BoC remaining on hold

March US trade deficit sees a modest increase, Canada trade balance moves into surplus on higher export prices

May 5, 2026 1:03 PM UTC

March’s US trade deficit of $60.3bn was a 3-month high and up from $57.8bn in February. Exports rose by 2.0% and imports rise by 2.3%, both extending on gains of over 4% in February. 

Preview: Due May 5 - U.S. March Trade Balance - Wider goods deficit to be partly offset by rise in services surplus

May 4, 2026 12:28 PM UTC

We expect a March trade deficit of $60.4bn, up from $57.3bn in February. We expect gains of 1.5% in exports and 2.1% in imports, extending respective February gains of 4.2% and 4.3% respectively.

Preview: Due May 5 - U.S. March Trade Balance - Wider goods deficit to be partly offset by rise in services surplus

April 30, 2026 3:26 PM UTC

We expect a March trade deficit of $60.4bn, up from $57.3bn in February. We expect gains of 1.5% in exports and 2.1% in imports, extending respective February gains of 4.2% and 4.3% respectively.

Bank of Canada - Policy seen appropriate under baseline assumptions, but risk may lean to upside

April 29, 2026 3:25 PM UTC

The Bank of Canada left rates unchanged at 2.25% as expected and Governor Macklem sees policy as appropriate under a BoC baseline that assumes oil prices evolves according to market expectations and US tariff rates remaining unchanged. This supports our view for steady BoC policy through 2026, thoug

Canada: BoC's Macklem - Policy appropriate if economy evolves in line with baseline

April 29, 2026 1:59 PM UTC

The BoC assumes oil prices will come down and US tariffs remain at current levels. Policy is seen as appropriate under the baseline.

U.S. Initial Claims rise but still low

April 23, 2026 12:43 PM UTC

Initial claims at 214k are up from 208k and slightly higher than expected, in data that covers the survey week for April’s non-farm payroll. Trend however remains subdued.

Bank of Canada Preview for April 29: No hawkish shift from energy price shock

April 22, 2026 5:28 PM UTC

The Bank of Canada meets on April 29 and looks set to leave rates unchanged at 2.25%. A quarterly Monetary Policy Report is due but given uncertainty the BoC may deliver a range of scenarios rather than an updated forecast. Despite the upside risks to overall inflation, recent subdued economic activ

U.S. Initial Claims low, Philly Fed stronger, price indices mostly firmer but not alarming

April 16, 2026 12:54 PM UTC

The latest US data suggests the economy so far is holding up well to the oil shock, with initial claims low at 207k from 218k and the April Philly Fed at 26.7 from 18.1, reaching its strongest since January 2025. Price data is mostly firmer, but not alarmingly so.

2-Week Ceasefire, Then?

April 8, 2026 10:09 AM UTC

·       The ceasefire will likely involve a new normal of shipping companies paying Iran a toll.  While this is adding a cost to Gulf crude oil/products and LNG, the premium will be a lot lower than the cost of an ongoing war.  The U.S. and Iran will now likely be reluctant to restart the w

Bank of Canada Minutes from March 18 - Too early to judge impact of war, tone far from hawkish

April 1, 2026 6:05 PM UTC

The Bank of Canada has released minutes from its March 18 meeting, which left rates unchanged at 2.25% as expected though we felt that the tone of the statement was somewhat dovish. The minutes show that the BoC felt that it was too early to assess the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, thou

Preview: Due April 2 - U.S. February Trade Balance - Volatility continuing, deficit to bounce after January decline

April 1, 2026 11:57 AM UTC

We expect the US trade balance to continue to show volatility in February, with a deficit of $68.0bn, up from $54.5bn in January but below December’s $72.9bn. The deficit would remain slightly below where trend was running in 2024, around $75.0bn per month, before a pre-tariff surge and a post-tar

Markets: Short vs Long Iran War

March 30, 2026 8:00 AM UTC

·       For a 4-8 week war and 3-4 quarters of energy price normalisation, we see a 10% U.S. equity market correction in H1 2026 driven by the current Iran war and/or consumption slowing due to lower (real) wage growth, alongside still stretched valuations in equity and equity-bond terms.  T

U.S. Initial Claims rise but still low, Continued Claims fall but trend fairly stable

March 26, 2026 12:52 PM UTC

Initial claims are as expected at 210k, up by 5k from last week’s 9-week low. Continued claims at 1.819m are lower than expected, down by 32k and the lowest since September 2024, though trend remains fairly stable.

Preview: Due April 2 - U.S. February Trade Balance - Volatility continuing, deficit to bounce after January decline

March 25, 2026 2:49 PM UTC

We expect the US trade balance to continue to show volatility in February, with a deficit of $68.0bn, up from $54.5bn in January but below December’s $72.9bn. The deficit would remain slightly below where trend was running in 2024, around $75.0bn per month, before a pre-tariff surge and a post-tar

Outlook Overview: Iran War and AI Challenges

March 23, 2026 4:39 PM UTC

·       The Iran war macro impact depends on length of the conflict and impact on energy flows. Our baseline is for a 4-8 week Iran war, with WTI down to USD80-85 by June; USD65-70 end December and USD60 by Q3 2027 (here).  The jump in oil and gas prices mean at least a temporary increase in

U.S. Initial Claims low, Philly Fed stronger, but full impact of energy shock still to be felt

March 19, 2026 12:57 PM UTC

The latest US data is stronger than expected, initial claims at 205k from 213k reaching a 9-week low in the survey week for March’s non-farm payroll, and March’s Philly Fed manufacturing index of 18.1 from 16.3 at a 6-month high. The full impact of the Middle East conflict however is however yet

Bank of Canada - Uncertainty Heightened Further but a Dovish Leaning

March 18, 2026 3:17 PM UTC

The Bank of Canada left rates at 2.25% as expected, but with uncertainty heightened still further removed from its statement a reference to the current policy being appropriate provided the economy evolves as expected. Uncertainty on policy has increased too. However, the BoC has taken a more dovish

Canada: BoC's Macklem - Downside growth risks, upside inflation risks

March 18, 2026 2:03 PM UTC

The BoC left rates unchanged with the Iran war increasing uncertainty still further, but sound more dovish on the economic outlook. 

Canada February CPI - Getting closer to target, but upside risks in March from energy

March 16, 2026 12:52 PM UTC

February Canadian CPI at 1.8% yr/yr from 2.3% has come in softer than expected with the assistance of the ending of a sales tax holiday a year ago, though BoC core rates point to underlying slowing. March data looks set to get a lift from energy prices, but the underlying picture is getting closer t

Preview: Due March 12 - U.S. January Trade Balance - May be stabilizing close to pre-tariff levels

March 11, 2026 1:07 PM UTC

We expect a January trade deficit of $69.0bn, which would be only a marginal correction from December’s $70.3bn which was the widest since July, though still well below the record $136.0bn deficit seen in March of 2025 shortly before the tariff announcement. 

Bank of Canada Preview for March 18: No change in rates or from January's message

March 10, 2026 5:27 PM UTC

The Bank of Canada meets on March 18 and looks highly likely to leave rates unchanged at 2.25%. The statement is likely to reiterate the message given at the last meeting on January 28, that the policy rate is appropriate conditional on the economy evolving in line with expectations, but uncertainty

Preview: Due March 12 - U.S. January Trade Balance - May be stabilizing close to pre-tariff levels

March 5, 2026 3:25 PM UTC

We expect a January trade deficit of $69.0bn, which would be only a marginal correction from December’s $70.3bn which was the widest since July, though still well below the record $136.0bn deficit seen in March of 2025 shortly before the tariff announcement. 

Canada Q4 GDP slips despite strong support from government, but some positive signals

February 27, 2026 2:32 PM UTC

Canada’s 0.6% annualized Q4 GDP decline was slightly weaker than expected and further below a flat BoC projection, and came despite quite strong support from government. Q3 was revised down to 2.4% from 2.6% but this was more than outweighed by an upward revision to Q2 to -0.9% from -1.8%. 

Preview: Due February 19 - U.S. December Trade Balance - Despite volatility, 2025 will average similar to 2024

February 18, 2026 2:46 PM UTC

We expect a December trade deficit of $59.5bn, which would be the widest since August and up moderately from November’s $56.8bn. It would be up sharply from October’s $29.2bn which was the lowest since June 2009 but heavily influenced by temporary factors. The data may bring some fine tuning to

U.S. Initial Claims remain inflated by weather, but February payroll likely to be weaker than January's

February 12, 2026 1:48 PM UTC

Initial claims at 227k are down from 232k but still higher than expected and higher than the seven preceding weeks. We suspect weather is playing a part in the recent upturn in initial claims, though the data suggests that February’s payroll will not be as strong as January’s.

Bank of Canada Minutes from January 28 - Steady policy dependent on economy evolving as expected

February 11, 2026 7:06 PM UTC

The Bank of Canada has released minutes from its January 28 meeting which provide no major surprises. The meeting saw rates left unchanged at 2.25% but noted heightened uncertainty, which the minutes also emphasize, with steady policy conditional on the economy evolving as expected.

Preview: Due February 19 - U.S. December Trade Balance - Despite volatility, 2025 will average similar to 2024

February 10, 2026 7:16 PM UTC

We expect a December trade deficit of $59.5bn, which would be the widest since August and up moderately from November’s $56.8bn. It would be up sharply from October’s $29.2bn which was the lowest since June 2009 but heavily influenced by temporary factors. The data may bring some fine tuning to

U.S. Initial Claims rise may be weather-related, but layoff announcements higher in January

February 5, 2026 1:44 PM UTC

Initial claims at 231 from 209k are higher than expected and the highest since December 6. Bad weather may have contributed to the increase, The latest week comes two weeks after January’s non-farm payroll was surveyed.

U.S. Inflows: Portfolio Dominates

February 4, 2026 12:05 PM UTC

·        Portfolio flows have dominated U.S. C/A financing looking at the breakdown of the balance of payment data (BOP), with no material slowdown in 2025 from foreign investors. U.S. investors did accelerate buying of overseas equities but this was counterbalanced by slower U.S. buying of

Markets: Profit-Taking or More?

February 2, 2026 9:22 AM UTC

•    For now we see some further profit-taking on risky positions in gold/silver/copper/equities and short USD positions.  However, a bigger macro catalyst is required to produce a deep correction in equities and major risk off.  The nomination of Kevin Warsh for Fed chair is unlikely to be

Bank of Canada - Rate Level Still Appropriate But Uncertainty Heightened

January 28, 2026 4:42 PM UTC

The Bank of Canada left rates unchanged at 2.25% as expected and continues to see the current policy rate as appropriate, Governor Macklem stating updated economic forecasts have not changed significantly since October. However in highlighting heightened uncertainty the statement appears to leave ri

Preview: Due January 29 - U.S. November Trade Balance - Narrower October deficit looks unsustainable

January 20, 2026 5:03 PM UTC

We expect a November trade deficit of $47.0bn, up from October’s $29.35bn which was the lowest since June 2009 and which looks unsustainably low, but still slightly narrower than September’s $48.14bn, which was itself the narrowest since March 2020.

Bank of Canada Preview for January 28: Rate level still appropriate but uncertainty high

January 20, 2026 3:24 PM UTC

The Bank of Canada looks highly likely to leave rates unchanged at 2.25% on January 28 and reiterate that rates are at about the right level if the economy evolves as expected, while adding that uncertainty remains elevated. We expect that the next BoC move will be a modest tightening, but this will

U.S. Initial Claims low, Philly Fed and Empire State surveys stronger at the start of 2026

January 15, 2026 2:09 PM UTC

The latest US data suggests a stronger start to 2026, with initial jobless claims very low at 198k from 207k in a week not including a holiday and is thus less prone to a surprise, and also positive manufacturing surveys from the Empire State at 7.7 and the Philly Fed at 12.6, both contrasting negat

Preview: Due January 8 - U.S. October Trade Balance - Exports to correct from stronger September

January 7, 2026 3:58 PM UTC

We expect an October trade deficit of $60.5bn, up from September’s $52.8bn which was the narrowest since June 2020. The deficit would be marginally above August’s $59.3bn, while remaining well below July’s $77.2bn and March’s record $136.4bn when imports surged ahead of the tariff announceme

Markets 2026

January 6, 2026 9:58 AM UTC

•    For financial markets, the muddle through for global economics and policy provides support for risk assets, combined with solid earnings prospects from some of the magnificent 7.  However, U.S. equities are once again significantly overvalued and we look for a 5-10% correction in 2026, b