Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s economic update points to an $18 billion deficit for the current year and $30 billion for next year. Economic growth has been downgraded and should reach a meagre 1.4% this year. The federal budget will be tabled on March 22.
Crude oil prices rose considerably yesterday with investors anticipating a drop in U.S. output and a stabilization in prices. Supplies remain high: Iranian exports will increase significantly in 2016, while Iraq announced yesterday that it intends to ramp up its production to more than 7 million barrels a day within 5 years. This represents a 45% jump compared to the current output level. In this context, it is difficult to imagine how Iraq could comply with the production freeze proposed by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Asian and European markets are down today while oil prices are stable after yesterday’s strong performance. Today, we’ll be keeping an eye on US Consumer Confidence figures as well as U.S. Existing Home Sales at 10 a.m. Have a great day.
