The Weekly Review, July 15 to 19, 2024

Consumer Price Index rises in June 2024

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7% on a year-over-year basis in June, down from a 2.9% gain in May. The deceleration was largely the result of slower year-over-year growth in gasoline prices, which rose 0.4% in June following a 5.6% increase in May. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 2.8% in June. On a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.1% in June, following a 0.6% increase in May. The monthly decrease was driven by lower prices for travel tours (-11.1%) and gasoline (-3.1%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1% in June.

Source: Consumer Price Index, June 2024

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) decline in May 2024

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 0.8% to $82.2 billion in May. Sales declined in five of the seven subsectors, with the largest decline coming from the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector. Wholesale sales were 0.9% lower in May compared with the same month one year earlier.

Source: Wholesale trade, May 2024

Canadian manufacturing sales increase in May 2024

Following a 1.4% increase in April, Canadian manufacturing sales rose 0.4% to $71.4 billion in May, driven by higher production in the aerospace product and parts industry group (+11.2%), followed by higher sales in the food (+1.4%) and paper (+5.5%) product subsectors. Meanwhile, sales of motor vehicles (-4.2%) and petroleum and coal products (-2.2%) decreased the most. Despite the monthly increase in the sector, total sales on a year-over-year basis were down 1.8% in May. Sales in constant dollars rose 0.4% in May, while the Industrial Product Price Index was unchanged and the Raw Materials Price Index declined 1.0%.

Source: Monthly Survey of Manufacturing, May 2024

Strong foreign acquisitions of Canadian debt securities in May 2024

Foreign investment in Canadian securities surpassed Canadian investment in foreign securities for a second consecutive month in May. Non-resident investors acquired $20.9 billion of Canadian securities, led by debt securities. Meanwhile, Canadian investors purchased a moderate $3.9 billion of foreign securities, largely bonds. As a result, international transactions in securities generated a net inflow of funds of $17.0 billion in the Canadian economy in May, following an inflow of $40.4 billion recorded in April.

Source: Canada’s international transactions in securities, May 2024

Gender disparities in mental health are persistent in 2020

In 2020, 12% of women and girls reported having poor self-perceived mental health compared with 9% of men and boys (compared with 9% of women and girls and 7% of men and boys in 2019). After controlling for sociodemographic factors, women and girls had higher odds of poorer self-perceived mental health and worsened mental health compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic than men and boys. Additionally, the gender gap in poor self-perceived mental health increased during the pandemic compared with 2019.

Source: Health Reports, July 2024

Exports value to the Netherlands increases in 2023

On a balance-of-payments basis, the combined value of Canada’s imports increased 1.4% to $770.2 billion from 2022 to 2023, while exports decreased by the same percentage to $768.3 billion.

Moderating this decline was the $7.6 billion worth of exports to the Netherlands, a 14.5% increase from 2022 to 2023. Among Canada’s top 10 principal trading partners, the Netherlands was one of two to see a yearly increase in total export value from Canada, along with China (+6.0% to $31.0 billion).

Source: Exports value to the Netherlands increases in 2023