Stocks are mostly higher this morning with the S&P 500 up 0.7% and Toronto up 0.6%.
Statistics Canada reported today that consumer prices are up an average of 1.7% in the past year but the core rate was 2.2% excluding gasoline and food. That puts inflation very close to the 2.0% target that the Bank of Canada favors.
Investment in new home construction in Canada, as of March, is running at 9.7% higher than it was one year ago. However in Alberta such investment is down 27%.
Retail sales were reported to be down slightly in March. New and used vehicle sales were down but that comes after several months of strong gains. Overall, I would not read anything into the headline figure of sales being down slightly in March versus February on a seasonally adjusted basis. Sales were still up quite strongly on a year over year basis in most provinces although down 3.8% in Alberta.