'Surprising' home sales increase challenging BoC's efforts to bring inflation down: economist
BNN Bloomberg
One economist says that accelerating momentum in Canada’s housing market ahead of potential interest rate cuts could have spillover effects for the broader economy.
Scotiabank Senior Economist Farah Omran said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Friday that rising home sales in December were a “surprising jump for everybody” and the trend continued into January. She noted that rises in home sales have taken place ahead of any moves by the Bank of Canada to lower interest rates.
“House prices have not started increasing with the increase in sales that we've seen, but that is typical. Typically prices lag the increase in sales, or the decline in sales,” Omran said adding that price increases could occur in the next few months.
The Canadian Real Estate Association said in January that December was characterized by “surprise” gains in home sales, rising 3.7 per cent compared with the same month a year earlier.
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Oil tankers are crossing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s actions to choke traffic through the shipping route have not hurt the U.S. economy, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Tuesday, reiterating the Trump administration’s position that the war should be over in weeks, not months.
Canada’s annual inflation rate slowed in February to 1.8 per cent, but many economists believe the new Statistics Canada data may be the dip before a spike driven by oil prices and the war in Iran.
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Canadian and U.S. stock markets gained ground on Wednesday as oil prices fell and tech stocks rose on both sides of the border.
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Daily oil exports from the Middle Eastern Gulf, home to top exporter Saudi Arabia and other major producers, have dropped by at least 60 per cent in the week to March 15 compared to February due to disruptions and output cuts amid the U.S.-Iran war, according to shipping data and Reuters calculations.
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Member countries of the International Energy Agency could release more oil into the market later “as and if needed” after they have already agreed the largest-ever reserve release, Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Monday.
Oil prices are down, and stocks are up Monday, though such moves have been quick to reverse since the war in Iran began.
Statistics Canada says the annual rate of inflation dipped below two per cent in February as the end of last year’s federal “tax holiday” helped take some steam out of the yearly price comparisons.