Hey there, fellow readers! It's your friendly finance guru here, bringing you the lowdown on what's happening in the Great White North. 🇨🇦

🗓️ October 31, 2023 - CMP Magazine 📰

So, what's the scoop? Well, it seems like Canada's economy is having a bit of a snooze fest, according to the latest stats from Statistics Canada. 😴

Our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decided to take a breather in August, and it looks like it continued to hit the snooze button into September. That's two months in a row, folks!

In fact, it's been so chill that our economy likely shrank at an annualized rate of 0.1% in the third quarter. Ouch! It's like someone let the air out of the economic balloon 🎈. What's causing this? Well, it seems that rising interest rates and persistent inflation are giving it a rough time.

The Bank of Canada has been on a rate-hiking spree, bumping up its benchmark interest rate ten times since last March. They've cranked it up to a 22-year high of 5%. 📈💰 They've been doing this to keep a lid on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, which has been running wild.

Now, in the world of numbers, there's some good news too. Wholesale trade and mining, quarrying, oil, and gas extraction all perked up a bit in August, which is a bright spot. 🛢️💼 On the flip side, agriculture, forestry, retail, accommodation, manufacturing, and food services had a bit of a slump.

While inflation is still above the Bank of Canada's 2% target, they've decided to take a breather with their rate hikes in their recent announcements. Seems like they think the economy needs a little TLC.

If the estimate for September is on the money, it means our economy didn't exactly have a growth spurt between May and that month. 📉📆

Now, what's the word on the street? Well, according to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), it looks like the central bank will keep the interest rates unchanged in the coming months. 👑💰

Assistant Chief Economist Nathan Janzen from RBC said, "The BoC is still concerned about broader inflation pressures running above the 2% target, but evidence continues to build that go-forward inflation pressures are easing as the economic growth backdrop softens. We don't expect additional interest rate hikes from the BoC as long as that continues." 📊🏦

So, there you have it, folks! Canada's economy is taking a breather, and it looks like we might not see more interest rate hikes in the near future. Let's keep an eye on this economic rollercoaster and see where it takes us. 🎢💼

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