The showing, while strong, was less than the 3.9 per
cent annual pace of growth that economists had been expecting.
Canada's economy expanded at a 1.8 per
cent annual pace during the last quarter, the same growth seen at the start of the year and slightly better than what economists were expecting.
Inflation data published last week showed the headline personal consumption expenditure (PCE) inflation index hit a 2 per
cent annual pace in the year to March and the Fed's preferred underlying measure, the core PCE which excludes volatile energy and food items, rose to 1.9 per cent.
Not exact matches
Canada's
annual pace of inflation in February sped up to 2.2 per
cent — its fastest
pace in more than three years — to creep above the central bank's ideal target of two per
cent.
Over the first half of 1999, consumer spending grew at an
annual rate of 4.8 per
cent, around the same
pace as was recorded in the second half of 1998.
The
pace of growth in housing credit nonetheless remains brisk, and now appears to have stabilised, at an
annual rate of around 12 1/2 per
cent over the six months to December.
Over the second half of last year, personal credit recorded a solid
pace of growth, and revolving credit secured against residential mortgages increased at an
annual rate of around 27 per
cent.
They are showing
annual sales growth of about 25 per
cent, while online sales are growing at double this
pace.
Still, at 13.2 per
cent, the
annual pace of price growth remains above the BoG's eight per
cent target rate.
It decreased by a revised
annual pace of 0.7 per
cent over the first three months of 2015 and again by 0.3 per
cent in the second quarter.
According to Statistics Canada, the consumer price index rose at an
annual pace of 2.7 per
cent in July, down from a 3.1 - per
cent increase for June.
But the Bank of Canada has also predicted that growth will pick up in the third quarter to an
annual pace of 3.5 per
cent as oil production ramps up and rebuilding efforts begin in Fort McMurray.
In its monetary policy report, the Bank of Canada forecast the economy contracted at an
annual pace of 0.5 per
cent in the second quarter compared with its April forecast for growth at a
pace of 1.8 per
cent.
That compared with earlier figures that showed contraction at an
annual pace of 0.4 per
cent in the second quarter of 2015 and growth of 2.4 per
cent and 0.8 per
cent in the third and fourth quarters of 2015.
Statistics Canada said Tuesday that real GDP grew at an
annual pace of 2.4 per
cent in the first quarter.
The contraction reported Wednesday compared with growth at an
annual pace of 2.5 per
cent in the first quarter, which was revised from an initial reading of 2.4 per
cent.
Assuming that the market remains fairly balanced and the economy grows moderately, TD expects home prices to grow at an average
annual pace of about three per
cent over the next decade.