Upbeat North American Data
January 31, 2011
Canadian GDP calculated from the supply-side industrial level rose 0.4% in November, the best monthly advance since March. GDP was also 3.0% higher than a year earlier. Very robust monthly increases were posted in mining and oil extraction (1.3%), retail sales (1.4%), and wholesale turnover (1.5%). This is a welcome turn of events following weaker-than-anticipated growth in both the second and third quarters of last year, when real GDP on a national income accounts expenditures basis advanced at an average annualized rate of 1.6%.
In the United States, personal expenditures grew 0.7% in December. The increase in volume terms was 0.4% and 2.8% on year. The Chicago purchasing managers index for the month of January was two whole points better than in December and, at 68.8, the highest reading since 1988. A significant 3.7 percentage point negative contribution from inventories to U.S. GDP growth in the final quarter of 2010 sets the stage for brisker overall GDP growth at the start of 2010.
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2011. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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