Canadian Manufacturing
June 15, 2009
Canada’s factory sector remains depressed. Orders plunged 10.8% in April and were 31.7% below their July 2008 level. Unfilled orders declined 5.5% in the latest month. Factory sales edged 0.1% lower after dropping 3.1% in March and were 24.1% lower than last July. The manufacturing sector’s implosion has been less intense since February, but the inventory-to-sales ratio of 1.58 in April remained much closer to January’s peak of 1.62 than to last July’s reading of 1.30. In a separate release, Canadian new motor vehicle sales were flat in April and 18.6% lower than a year earlier on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Canada remains in recession. The appreciation of the Canadian dollar from 1.2504 per USD in late April to a high last week of 1.0942 is a fresh concern. Today has been a day for correction in foreign exchange from a perceived U.S. dollar-oversold market. The C-dollar has participated in this give-back of recent gains, but will the reversal last? Probably only if the U.S. dollar advances in a general way.
Copyright 2009 Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: Canadian Dollar
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