NEW YORK (MaceNews) – Canada’s consumers were feeling better in the first quarter, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and before oil prices plunged, a Bank of Canada quarterly survey found.
Consumers’ expectations for one-year-ahead and five-year-ahead inflation increased slightly in the first quarter of 2020, reversing some declines seen in the fourth quarter. The two-year-ahead expectations have been roughly unchanged since early 2018, the bank said.
“Views on the labor market improved slightly relative to those in the fourth quarter, consistent with a resilient labor market,” the bank said. “Consumers’ reported probability of voluntary job departure continued to climb in the first quarter of 2020 and is at a new survey high. The reported probability of losing a job went down somewhat, while expectations for wage growth increased modestly. Overall, consumers’ expectations for growth of household income went up slightly in the first quarter of 2020. The rate they expect their household spending to increase over the next year continued to edge up. These expectations for spending growth also continued to surpass consumers’ expectations for income growth, suggesting that consumers were not becoming more cautious in their spending. “
“Consumers’ expectations for house price growth went up modestly in Canada overall. Expectations for house price growth increased in Ontario and Quebec, stabilized in British Columbia and remained weak in Alberta and Saskatchewan.”