By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com – It’s a full docket today in Canadian economic data
Here’s a roundup of today’s most important stories in Canadian economics.
- Statistics Canada reported manufacturing sales fell 1.5% in December, mainly on lower sales of petroleum and coal products, wood product and food industries. On an annual basis, total manufacturing sales increased 17.9% to $850.9 billion in 2022, with sales increasing in 20 of 21 industries.
- Statistics Canada also reported that wholesale sales fell 0.8% to $82.2 billion in December. Declines in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector and the miscellaneous goods subsector led to the losses. On an annual basis however Canadian wholesale grew 11.8% to $973.1 billion in 2022. Sales increased in six months of the year and increased on a quarterly basis as well throughout the year.
- According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, national home sales declined 3% month-over-month in January. Monthly activity came in 37.1% below January 2022, making it the worst January since 2009 in the immediate aftermath of the Financial Crisis. The Canadian national home price average meanwhile declined 18.3% year over year.
- A CMHC report shows that the annual rate of total housing starts across Canada declined 13% in January (215,365 units) compared to December (248,296 units). The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate was 259,412 in January, down 4% cent from 269,781 in December.