Last week was particularly newsworthy, with several events and indicator releases driving strong movements in major asset classes. The highly anticipated decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve (“Fed”) was clearly the most important event of the week. As expected by the vast majority of market watchers, the Fed left its key interest rate unchanged but made a point of repeating its intention to raise rates in the near future.
In Canada, two economic indicators released on Friday attracted attention. Retail sales and inflation painted a rather disappointing picture of the Canadian economy. In July, retail sales (excluding the automotive sector) slipped 0.1%, compared to economists’ expectations of 0.5% growth. As for inflation, the consumer price index (the CPI) was flat in August, bringing the 12-month core inflation rate to 1.8%, its lowest level in two years.
Have a good week