We got a positive surprise yesterday with U.S. Housing Starts for November, which were up 3.3% compared to an expected -3.1%, which is in keeping with the most recent reports indicating a rise in hiring for construction workers. Some naysayers will claim that this performance is more related to the devastation wrought by this fall’s hurricanes and rebuilding needs, rather than exceptional economic growth. Nevertheless, there are still more U.S. workers putting money back into the economy via their consumption.
Donald Trump is now a few hours away from seeing his tax measures adopted by the Senate. Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted in favour of the final plan. If adopted, the bill will represent the greatest victory to-date for the controversial Trump, who framed it as his Christmas present to the American people, which was why it has to be passed before the holidays. The plan represents the most substantial tax overhaul in the past 30 years in the United States.
Closer to home, the approaching holiday season is not deterring the Canadian government from releasing economic indicators, with inflation and Retail Sales numbers for November and October, respectively, tomorrow at 8:30.
Yusuf Kocagozli
Range of the day: 1.2805 – 1.2910