News in end use


Canadian Confidence Index Dips for Third Consecutive Week

According to the latest Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index (CCI), consumer confidence declined for the third week in a row — a reflection of the ongoing concern about a softening economic outlook. The CCI fell 1 point to a reading of 61.6 last week. This is the lowest level since March of this year.

More Homes Available For Sale in August

Realtor.com’s Monthly Housing Report for August 2021 reveals that inventory and new listings improved during the month. There were 432,000 newly listed homes hitting the market during the month of August, an increase of 4.3% in inventory year-over-year. U.S. housing inventory has declined 25.8% year-over-year in August to close out Q3 of 2021, an improvement over last month’s decline of 33.5%.

Declining Lumber Prices Cause Canada’s Trade Surplus to Shrink in July

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that in July, Canada’s merchandise imports rose 4.2% and exports increased 0.6%. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade surplus narrowed from $2.6 billion in June to $778 million (CAD) in July. In real (or volume) terms, total imports rose 1.9% in July, while exports edged down 0.3%.

Nonfarm Payroll Employment Up — Unemployment Declines to 5.2% in August 2021

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting today (9-3-21) that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 235,000 in August, following a revised 1.1 million in July, and a revised 962,000 increase in June. Nonfarm payroll employment has increased by 17.0 million since April 2020 but is down by -5.3 million, or -3.5%, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020.

Canadian Total Value of Building Permits Drop -3.9% in July

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that the total value of building permits in Canada decreased 3.9% to $9.9 billion (CAD) in July. All provinces except British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador posted lower values, with the majority of the national decline reported in Alberta (-23.4%). Building permits fell -3.1% in the residential sector and -5.6% in the non-residential sector.

Weekly Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending August 28, 2021

The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 340,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, August 28, 2021. This is a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020, when it was 256,000.