Canada wholesale trade, May 2026

The Producer Price Index for final demand fell 0.3 percent in June, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices advanced 0.6 percent in May and 1.1 percent in April. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand increased 5.5 percent for the 12 months ended in June. The June decline in the ...

The Canadian economy has been adjusting to US tariffs and continued uncertainty about the review of the Canada‑United States‑Mexico Agreement, as well as slower population growth. Business investment has been roughly flat, exports and housing activity have declined and economic growth has been uneven. As a result, the level of gross domestic product was roughly unchanged from the first quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026. The unemployment rate has generally fluctuated between 6½% and 7%, pointing to excess supply in the economy. Consumer price index inflation in Canada was close to the 2% target for more than a year and a half until the war in the Middle East began. The hostilities caused global oil prices to spike, pushing up gasoline prices. Inflation rose to 3.2% in May. However, inflation excluding gasoline, as well as measures of core inflation, stayed close to 2%. This suggests that, so far, spillovers to the prices of other goods and services remain contained. Canadian businesses are adapting to elevated geopolitical uncertainty stemming from US trade policy and developments in the Middle East. Despite some volatility, recent data suggest that the economy is evolving broadly in line with the outlook in the April Rep Bank of Canada sees 2026 growth at 0.7% (vs 1.2% in April MPR), sees 1.8% growth in 2027 (vs 1.6%), 1.8% in 2028 (vs 1.7%). BoC: Inflation to average 2.5% in 2026 (vs 2.3% in April), 2.0% in 2027 (vs 2.1%), 2.1% in 2028 (vs 2.0%). Just in | The Bank of Canada maintains its nominal neutral interest rate estimate at the midpoint of 2.25% to 3.25%, consistent with April's assessment.

US CENTCOM: : AT 6 A.M. ET TODAY, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND FORCES BEGAN LAUNCHING A WAVE OF STRIKES AGAINST IRAN. - RTRS $CL U.S. launches fresh wave of strikes on Iran, as analysts warn conflict risks becoming ‘forever war’ The U.S. launched a fresh round of strikes on Iran early Wednesday morning, hours after President Donald Trump warned military strikes would intensify next week if Tehran does not cooperate in peace talks. U.S. Central Command said in a post on X on Wednesday that it had begun launching a wave of strikes against Iran at 6 a.m. ET. “The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” it said. Centcom had carried out more strikes against Iran on Tuesday. Tehran, meanwhile, has launched attacks on multiple Gulf countries. In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday evening, Trump hinted that the conflict was more likely to intensify than de-escalate as a fragile ceasefire agreed last month continues to fracture.