Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary...

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August 27, 2012 ECONOMY AND STRATEGY GROUP – 514.879.2529 Stéfane Marion, Chief Economist and Strategist General: National Bank Financial Markets is a business undertaken by National Bank Financial Inc. (“NBF”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of National Bank of Canada, and a division of National Bank of Canada. This research has been produced by NBF. National Bank of Canada is a public company listed on Canadian stock exchanges The particulars contained herein were obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable but are not guaranteed by us and may be incomplete. The opinions expressed are based upon our analysis and interpretation of these particulars and are not to be construed as a solicitation or offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned herein. Canadian Residents: In respect of the distribution of this report in Canada, NBF accepts responsibility for its contents. To make further inquiry related to this report or effect any transaction, Canadian residents should contact their NBF Investment advisor. U.S. Residents: NBF Securities (USA) Corp., an affiliate of NBF, accepts responsibility for the contents of this report, subject to any terms set out above. Any U.S. person wishing to effect transactions in any security discussed herein should do so only through NBF Securities (USA) Corp. UK Residents – In respect of the distribution of this report to UK residents, NBF Securities UK has approved the contents (including, where necessary, for the purposes of Section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000). NBF Securities UK and/or its parent and/or any companies within or affiliates of the National Bank of Canada group and/or any of their directors, officers and employees may have or may have had interests or long or short positions in, and may at any time make purchases and/or sales as principal or agent, or may act or may have acted as market maker in the relevant securities or related financial instruments discussed in this report, or may act or have acted as investment and/or commercial banker with respect thereto. The value of investments can go down as well as up. Past performance will not necessarily be repeated in the future. The investments contained in this report are not available to retail customers. This report does not constitute or form part of any offer for sale or subscription of or solicitation of any offer to buy or subscribe for the securities described herein nor shall it or any part of it form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. This information is only for distribution to Eligible Counterparties and Professional Clients in the United Kingdom within the meaning of the rules of the Financial Services Authority. NBF Securities UK is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom and has its registered office at 71 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4HD. Copyright: This report may not be reproduced in whole or in part, or further distributed or published or referred to in any manner whatsoever, nor may the information, opinions or conclusions contained in it be referred to without in each case the prior express written consent of National Bank Financial. Economic indicators review (p. 6) Things to watch Economic calendar and significant earnings announcements of the week ahead (p. 7) Economic tables (p. 8) Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced on the whole. The ratio of listings to sales stood at 6.1 months this past July and has shown little variation in almost two years. However, this stability at the national level masks a recent softening of the market (reflected in a significant increase in the listings-to-sales ratio) in Canada’s three major metropolitan areas. In Toronto and Montreal, the condo market is primarily at fault; in Vancouver, the entire resale market is concerned. This softening of the resale market in the three major metropolitan areas is occurring in conjunction with a high level of dwellings under construction. In the case of Toronto, we also know that the number of condos unsold (including those for which construction has yet to begin) has surpassed the previous peak reached at the end of 2008. Under these circumstances, we believe that developers will like to see some of the unsold supply absorbed before launching new projects. The caution that developers will exercise will contribute to a decline in the overall construction of new dwellings in the country as a whole. For all of Canada, then, we expect housing starts to reach 180,000 in 2013, down from 206,000 in 2012. Resale market At the national level, the resale housing market appears to be balanced. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), in July, the ratio of the number of homes listed for sale to the number of homes sold stood at 6.1 months after adjusting for seasonal variations. The ratio was unchanged versus June and has fluctuated very little since September 2010. It need be reminded that the inventory of homes for sale represented nearly ten months of sales at the onset of the recession in December 2008 (buyer’s market) and a low of just over four months of sales in October 2009 (seller’s market). Chart 1 Source: Canadian Real Estate Association However, the data show considerable variation in the state of affairs from region to region. In the Greater Toronto Area, for example, the resale market remained tight from the end of 2010 until very recently when the situation began to change, especially regarding condominium apartments. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), sales in this segment were down 11.7% in July from their level the year before while active listings were up 27%. Applying these variations to sales and active listings in 2011Q3, we obtain, one month into 2012Q3, a ratio of 4.1 months of active listings relative to sales. This is a historically high figure for the Toronto condo market outside periods of recession.

Transcript of Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary...

Page 1: Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary • At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced on the whole.

August 27, 2012

ECONOMY AND STRATEGY GROUP – 514.879.2529 Stéfane Marion, Chief Economist and Strategist

General: National Bank Financial Markets is a business undertaken by National Bank Financial Inc. (“NBF”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of National Bank of Canada, and a division of National Bank of Canada. ♦ This research has been produced by NBF. National Bank of Canada is a public company listed on Canadian stock exchanges ♦ The particulars contained herein were obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable but are not guaranteed by us and may be incomplete. The opinions expressed are based upon our analysis and interpretation of these particulars and are not to be construed as a solicitation or offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned herein. ♦Canadian Residents: In respect of the distribution of this report in Canada, NBF accepts responsibility for its contents. To make further inquiry related to this report or effect any transaction, Canadian residents should contact their NBF Investment advisor. ♦ U.S. Residents: NBF Securities (USA) Corp., an affiliate of NBF, accepts responsibility for the contents of this report, subject to any terms set out above. Any U.S. person wishing to effect transactions in any security discussed herein should do so only through NBF Securities (USA) Corp. ♦ UK Residents – In respect of the distribution of this report to UK residents, NBF Securities UK has approved the contents (including, where necessary, for the purposes of Section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000). NBF Securities UK and/or its parent and/or any companies within or affiliates of the National Bank of Canada group and/or any of their directors, officers and employees may have or may have had interests or long or short positions in, and may at any time make purchases and/or sales as principal or agent, or may act or may have acted as market maker in the relevant securities or related financial instruments discussed in this report, or may act or have acted as investment and/or commercial banker with respect thereto. The value of investments can go down as well as up. Past performance will not necessarily be repeated in the future. The investments contained in this report are not available to retail customers. This report does not constitute or form part of any offer for sale or subscription of or solicitation of any offer to buy or subscribe for the securities described herein nor shall it or any part of it form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. This information is only for distribution to Eligible Counterparties and Professional Clients in the United Kingdom within the meaning of the rules of the Financial Services Authority. NBF Securities UK is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom and has its registered office at 71 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4HD. ♦ Copyright: This report may not be reproduced in whole or in part, or further distributed or published or referred to in any manner whatsoever, nor may the information, opinions or conclusions contained in it be referred to without in each case the prior express written consent of National Bank Financial.

• Economic indicators review (p. 6)

• Things to watch

Economic calendar and significant earnings announcements of the week ahead (p. 7)

• Economic tables (p. 8)

Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013

Summary • At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced

on the whole. The ratio of listings to sales stood at 6.1 months this past July and has shown little variation in almost two years.

• However, this stability at the national level masks a recent softening of the market (reflected in a significant increase in the listings-to-sales ratio) in Canada’s three major metropolitan areas. In Toronto and Montreal, the condo market is primarily at fault; in Vancouver, the entire resale market is concerned.

• This softening of the resale market in the three major metropolitan areas is occurring in conjunction with a high level of dwellings under construction. In the case of Toronto, we also know that the number of condos unsold (including those for which construction has yet to begin) has surpassed the previous peak reached at the end of 2008. Under these circumstances, we believe that developers will like to see some of the unsold supply absorbed before launching new projects.

• The caution that developers will exercise will contribute to a decline in the overall construction of new dwellings in the country as a whole. For all of Canada, then, we expect housing starts to reach 180,000 in 2013, down from 206,000 in 2012.

Resale market

At the national level, the resale housing market appears to be balanced. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), in July, the ratio of the number of homes listed for sale to the number of homes sold stood at 6.1 months after adjusting for seasonal variations. The ratio was unchanged versus June and has fluctuated very little since September 2010. It need be reminded that the inventory of homes for sale represented nearly ten months of sales at the onset of the recession in December 2008 (buyer’s market) and a low of just over four months of sales in October 2009 (seller’s market).

Chart 1

Source: Canadian Real Estate Association

However, the data show considerable variation in the state of affairs from region to region. In the Greater Toronto Area, for example, the resale market remained tight from the end of 2010 until very recently when the situation began to change, especially regarding condominium apartments. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), sales in this segment were down 11.7% in July from their level the year before while active listings were up 27%. Applying these variations to sales and active listings in 2011Q3, we obtain, one month into 2012Q3, a ratio of 4.1 months of active listings relative to sales. This is a historically high figure for the Toronto condo market outside periods of recession.

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WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

August 27, 2012 2

Chart 2

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Toronto: condominium apartments listed for saleRatio of listings to monthly sales, seasonally adjusted data

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NBF Economy and Strategy Group, data via the Canadian Real Estate Association for 1998 to June 2011 and the Toronto Real Estate Board since July 2011

The TREB announced also that, in July, the median sales price of condo apartments stood at the same point it was at in July 2001. Such an occurrence has very seldom been witnessed in the past 15 years outside periods of recession1.

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NBF Economy and Strategy Group, data via the Toronto Real Estate Board

Let us now take a look at the resale market in the Greater Vancouver Area. The latest report by the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board (GVREB) covering July indicated that active listings were up nearly 19% in the past year while sales were down 18%. If we apply this information to seasonally adjusted sales and active listings in 2011Q3, we obtain, one month into 2012Q3, an inventory of homes for sale representing eight months of 1 The apparent softening of the Toronto condo market is not exactly characteristic of the entire resale market. Indeed, year over year, the number of existing homes sold in July, excluding condos, fell by only 2.0% and the median sales price of all homes sold actually advanced by 1.9%. Condominium apartments account for a little less than a quarter of the Toronto resale market.

sales. This, too, is a historically high figure. Unfortunately, the data published by the GVREB does not allow computing a similar estimate for the condo market. However, CREA data up to 2012Q2 show that this segment has been following a course similar to that of the market as a whole.

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NBF Economy and Strategy Group, data via the Canadian Real Estate Association seasonally adjusted by NBF

One month into Q3

Number of months at current sales rate Number of months at current sales rate

In the Greater Montreal Area, also, the resale market has shown some softening of late. This has been true particularly for the condo segment.

Chart 5

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NBF Economy and Strategy Group, data via the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards, listings seasonally adjusted by NBF

Montreal: number of homes listed for saleRatio of listings to monthly sales, seasonally adjusted data

Number of months at current sales rate Number of months at current sales rate

CondosSingle-family homes

According to the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB), active listings in this segment were up 20% year over year while sales were up only 1%. By our calculations, the dwellings for sale in July represented a supply of nine months, which is to say more than one standard deviation above the historical average of 7.4 months.

What’s more, the QFREB reported that, in July, the median price of condo apartments sold had increased by only 0.9% year over year.

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August 27, 2012 3

In Canada’s three major metropolitan areas, then, the resale market has shown considerable softening recently, particularly where the condo segment is concerned. However, this was not necessarily the case elsewhere. Indeed, the Calgary Real Estate Board reported that, in July, the inventory of homes for sale had fallen from 4.0 to 2.6 months of sales in the single-family segment and from 4.4 to 3.2 in the condo segment. According to the Realtors Association of Edmonton, active listings in July had decreased 8.8% year over year while sales had jumped 3.6%. The Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors, for its part, reported that active listings in July had diminished 13% while sales had sprung 13%. It may well be, then, that the softening of the market in the three major metropolitan areas is being offset in part by tightening in other regions. This would explain why the market appeared stable on a national basis in July, as suggested by Chart 1.

New housing market

Since 2003, the number of condo starts as a proportion of total housing starts has been on the rise in the Greater Toronto Area to the detriment of freehold dwellings. In 2011, condos accounted for just over half the housing starts, which was the case also in 2008. Given the space constraints related to urban planning legislation, this trend will probably prove enduring.

The supply of new condos has so far not exceeded demand. Bearing witness to this is the fact that, according to the CMHC, there were only 801 unsold new condos this past June, which pales in comparison to the 1,218 units absorbed on average each month in the past year. One reason for the small number of new condos unsold is the relatively large presence of investors who often buy condos prior to construction.

Still, the record-high condo starts registered in the first half of 2012 have raised some concern. These resulted in a sharp increase in the number of condos under construction2. According to Urbanation, 88% of the condos under construction in 2012Q2 were already sold. This is why any over-construction will not show up in the statistics as a glut in the inventory of new condos unsold but rather as a glut in listings.

2 Comparing the number of condos under construction with the number of freehold dwellings under construction can be misleading. As the construction cycle for condos can last as much as three years, the same condo can remain in the statistics for more than 30 months in a row, compared with only a few months for a freehold dwelling.

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NBF Economy and Strategy Group, data via CMHC

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However, in Toronto, the condo rental market often allows investors to defer listing their condos for sale. In other words, this market serves as a safety valve.

According to the CMHC, from November 2010 to October 2011, 18,954 new condos were completed in the Greater Toronto Area. Moreover, the number of condo rentals that entered the market jumped by 9,259, the steepest increase on record and far more than the 1,093 apartment building rentals that entered the market over the same period. Despite all of this, in October 2011, the vacancy rate for the 59,854 condos on the rental market was only 1.1%, down from 1.7% in October 2010.

As we saw in the previous section, the existence of a condo rental market did not prevent the emergence of signs that the resale market had begun to soften of late. Consequently, a price correction can be expected, although activity on the rental market should limit its amplitude.

According to Urbanation, there were 18,123 condo apartments unsold at the end of June (including those for which construction had yet to begin), topping the previous peak of 17,600 units attained at the end of 2008. This should incite developers to defer or cancel the launch of new projects, which should result in a slowdown in condo starts in 2013.

In the Greater Vancouver Area, it seems that the very high number of condo starts at the end of 2007 and at the beginning of 2008 translated, after the recession, into an increase in new condos unsold. The drop in starts during the recession then allowed this number to stabilize. Starts picked up sharply in 2011 (without, however, returning to their pre-recession level), which so far has translated into a steep increase in the number of condos under construction. According to an analysis by the CMHC, the number of new condos unsold at the end of 2011 (including units for which construction had yet to begin) represented only 5.5 months of sales against 23.8 months at the end of 2008. It is therefore likely that the condos

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August 27, 2012 4

presently under construction will not end up massively as new condos unsold but will end up instead on the resale or rental markets.

Chart 7

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NBF Economy and Strategy Group, data via CMHC

Freehold Condominium

The condo rental market in Vancouver is in no way second to the market in Toronto. In October 2011, the vacancy rate for 44,804 condos on the rental market in the Greater Vancouver Area stood at a lowly 0.9%. Consequently, the same prediction can be made as for Toronto: a price correction is likely in the resale market, although its amplitude will be limited by the safety valve that is the rental market.

We also expect condo starts to slow down, although less so than in Toronto, given that the number of condos unsold (including those for which construction has yet to begin) seems less worrisome. The record number of dwellings under construction in the first half of 2012 in the freehold category suggests that a slowdown in starts is imminent there as well.

In the Greater Montreal Area, the number of freehold dwellings that are new and unsold has fluctuated without trend since 2007. Including units under construction, the supply of these dwellings represented 6.1 months of absorption (at the sales rate registered in the first half of 2012), that is, one standard deviation above the historical average of 5.3 months.

Chart 8

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NBF Economy and Strategy Group, calculations from CMHC data

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However, we must take into consideration that the recent supply level represents a decline relative to the 7 months’ supply recorded this past February. Indeed, when we adjust for seasonal variations, the number of dwellings under construction has dropped following a decrease in starts. There is reason to believe, then, that homebuilders have already begun to adjust their sights.

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Montreal: new condos market

NBF Economy and Strategy Group, calculations from CMHC data

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The same cannot be said for the condo market. According to the latest news, the number of condo starts has been trending up sharply since 2010. This has translated in 2012 into an increase in the number of new condos unsold, although the number still represents only a two months’ supply, which is far from its historical highs.

However, if we take into account condos under construction, supply shoots up to 10.1 months this past June, against a historical average of 8.1 months.

Given the recent softening of the resale market, we believe that developers will have a harder time than before

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WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

August 27, 2012 5

reaching the level of pre-sold condos needed to launch new projects. Here, too, this should translate into a slowdown in condo starts.

Conclusion

At the national level, the resale housing market appears to be balanced on the whole. The ratio of listings to sales stood at 6.1 months this past July and has shown very little variation in almost two years.

However, this stability at the national level masks a recent softening of the market (reflected in a significant increase in the listing-to-sales ratio) in Canada’s three major metropolitan areas. In Toronto and Montreal, the condo market is primarily at fault; in Vancouver, the entire resale market is concerned.

This softening of the resale market in the three major metropolitan areas is occurring in conjunction with a high level of dwellings under construction. In the case of Toronto, we also know that the number of condos unsold (including those for which construction has yet to begin) has surpassed the previous peak reached at the end of 2008. Under these circumstances, we believe that developers will like to see some of the unsold supply absorbed before launching new projects.

The caution that developers will exercise in the three major metropolitan areas will contribute to a decline in the overall construction of new dwellings in the country as a whole. For all of Canada, then, we expect housing starts to reach 180,000 in 2013, down from 206,000 in 2012.

Marc Pinsonneault – Senior Economist 514 879-2589 – [email protected]

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WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

ECONOMIC INDICATORS REVIEW

August 27, 2012 6

Canada – In June, retail sales fell 0.4%. Compounding

the bad news was a one-tick downward revision to the prior month’s figure. Sales were down in 7 of the 11 subsectors. Auto dealership revenues sagged 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales still retreated 0.4% instead of advancing 0.2% as expected by consensus. Retail sales were essentially at the same level they were at eight months earlier in October. Big-ticket items were hit particularly hard over this period. Housing-related spending (furniture, electronics, appliances and building materials) ebbed 5.3% (annualized) in 2012Q2 after pulling back 6.8% in 2012Q1. Auto dealerships, which had performed well in Q1 (+6.5%), reversed course and then some in Q2 (-8.5%). As a result, discretionary spending registered its worst stretch in two years. With June's drop in volumes, real retail sales slid 2% annualized in 2012Q2, which suggests limited contribution from consumers to GDP for the second consecutive quarter. We continue to expect GDP growth to come in at 1.5% annualized, below the Bank of Canada's 1.8% estimate for the quarter.

After progressing four months running, wholesale trade dipped 0.1% in June versus consensus expectations for a 0.3% increase. The decline was driven by a 6.4% slump in the "miscellaneous" subsector, which more than offset gains in five of the seven subsectors, including machinery/equipment (+1.3%), motor vehicles/parts (+2.2%), and the volatile "farm product" category (+3.3%). However, these seemed to be due primarily to higher prices, as wholesale trade decreased 0.5% in real terms.

United States – In July, existing-home sales rose

2.3% to 4.47 million units. Both singles (2.1%) and multiples (4.3%) rebounded after a sharp drop in the prior month. The supply of homes for sale slipped a tick to 6.4 months at the current sales rate. The median sales price fell marginally, though it remained 9.4% above its mark a year earlier (+9.6% for singles and +7.7% for multiples). Distressed sales as a percentage of total sales dropped to 24%, their lowest level in years. New-home sales jumped 3.6% to 372K, overshooting consensus expectations and erasing the prior month’s decline. The supply of new homes at the current sales rate fell two ticks to 4.6 months. Both housing reports pointed to an uptrend in the U.S. housing market.

Again in July, durable goods orders rose 4.2% on strong lift from the transportation sector where non-defence aircraft orders soared 53.9% and orders for vehicles and

parts surged 12.8%. These were the largest monthly increases this year for both categories. Excluding transportation, however, orders dropped 0.4%. What’s more, June ex-transportation orders were revised down from -1.1% to -2.2%. Non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a gauge of future investment spending, fell 3.4% for a second monthly drop in a row. Total shipments of durable goods sprang 2.6% overall. Although shipments of non-defence capital goods ex aircraft were flat in the month, they were nonetheless tracking at 5.6% annualized in Q3, a touch better than Q2's performance. In other words, investment spending, which added to GDP in Q2, seemed to be holding up in Q3. That said, the pace of shipments should moderate going forward given the continued drop in new orders of capital goods ex aircraft (-9.3% on a 3-month annualized basis in July). Moreover, the boost in the transportation segment may be temporary not just because of Boeing's massive orders in July, but also because the jump in auto/parts orders might have owed something to delayed retooling in the auto sector. Hence, we can expect some moderation ahead.

In other news, the Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI edged higher to a consensus-topping 51.9 in August, up five ticks from July's 51.4 print.

Global – The Markit Flash Eurozone PMI supported

the prevailing view that the economy would slide back into recession in 2012Q3 shrinking from 2.0% to 2.5% at an annualized rate. The data were particularly bad for Germany, which saw its PMI service component contract for the first time since 2008-2009. Though manufacturing improved (it pulled back nonetheless, but less so than previously), everything is now pointing towards negative growth for German GDP in Q3. This week’s release for China was disappointing as well: the PMI for its manufacturing sector pegged in at 47.9 and net exports orders fell to a multi-year low of 44.7.

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WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

THINGS TO WATCH – Canada & US

August 27, 2012 7

Consensus Cons.

Estimate EPS

Tiffany & Co Bef-mkt Q2 2013 0.73

9:00 US S&P/CS Composite-20 YoY Jun -0.66% 0.00% Bank of Nova Scotia 7:30 Q3 2012 1.19

9:00 US S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Ind Jun 139.0 -- Bank of Montreal 0:00 Q3 2012 1.38

10:00 US Consumer Confidence Aug 65.9 66.0 65.0

7:00 US MBA Mortgage Applications Aug-24 -7.40% -- Canadian Western Bank 20:00 Q3 2012 0.57

8:30 US GDP QoQ (Annualized) 2Q S 1.50% 1.70% 1.60% Joy Global Inc Bef-mkt Q3 2012 1.89

8:30 US Personal Consumption 2Q S 1.50% 1.50% 1.60% Brown-Forman Corp 8:00 Q1 2013 0.62

9:00 CA Teranet/National Bank HPI MoM% Jul 1.20% 0.50% 0.00% HJ Heinz Co 0:00 Q1 2013 0.80

9:00 CA Teranet/National Bank HPI YoY% Jul 5.40% 4.60% 4.10%

14:00 US Fed's Beige Book

8:30 CA Current Account (BOP) 2Q -$10.3B -$15.3B -$16.0B CIBC Canada 5:30 Q3 2012 1.96

8:30 US Personal Spending Jul 0.00% 0.50% 0.50% Royal Bank of Canada 6:00 Q3 2012 1.18

8:30 US PCE Core (MoM) Jul 0.20% 0.10% Toronto-Dominion Bank 6:30 Q3 2012 1.83

8:30 US PCE Core (YoY) Jul 1.80% 1.70% National Bank of Canada Aft-mkt Q3 2012 1.89

8:30 US Initial Jobless Claims Aug-25 372K 370K Westshore Terminals 0:00 Q2 2012 0.22

Reitmans Canada Ltd 0:00 Q2 2013 0.46

SAIC Inc Aft-mkt Q2 2013 0.33

8:30 CA Gross Domestic Product MoM Jun 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% Laurentian Bank of Can 0:00 Q3 2012 1.24

8:30 CA Quarterly GDP Annualized 2Q 1.90% 1.60% 1.50%

9:55 US U. of Michigan Confidence Aug F 73.6 73.6

10:00 US Factory Orders Jul -0.50% 1.90% 2.00%

Source: Bloomberg

Aug 31

Wednesday

Aug 29

Thursday

Aug 30

Friday

Monday

Aug 27

Tuesday

Aug 28

Economic releases & eventsPeriod PreviousTime

Earnings announcementsCountry Release NBF

EstimateCompany Time Qtr

Page 8: Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary • At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced on the whole.

WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

ECONOMIC TABLES

August 27, 2012 8

TABLE 1 - NORTH AMERICAN FINANCIAL INDICATORSAugust 24, 2012

Monthly Growth (%) Annualized Growth Cumulated since

Growth Rates Unless Reference Past Prev. Month Average of the last Since beginning of year

Otherwise Indicated Period Level Month Month Before 3 Mos. 6 Mos. 12 Mos. ref. prec.

UNITED STATESMONETARY AGGREGATES ($Billions)

M1 * July 2012 2319 2.8 0.4 -0.4 7.4 9.6 15.7 17.3 12.3

M2 * July 2012 10021 0.8 0.5 0.4 5.6 6.8 8.1 9.7 5.6CREDIT MEASURES

Consumer Credit June 2012 2577 0.3 0.7 0.3 5.4 6.1 5.1 4.8 0.7Mortgage (Banks) * July 2012 3519 0.0 -0.3 -0.1 -1.3 2.4 0.9 -0.2 -4.7Business * July 2012 1452 1.1 1.6 0.6 13.7 14.6 14.2 13.1 1.2

CANADAMONETARY AGGREGATES

M2+ gross * June 2012 1477 0.9 0.7 0.5 6.1 5.9 6.7 6.1 3.8Personal Deposits (Banks) (2) * July 2012 733 0.5 0.7 0.3 4.7 5.1 6.2 5.8 4.2

CREDIT MEASURESConsumer * June 2012 493 0.4 0.3 0.1 2.2 2.2 2.9 2.7 3.8Mortgages * June 2012 1145 0.6 0.5 0.4 6.6 6.9 7.0 7.3 7.6Short - Term Business Loans June 2012 362 0.5 0.2 1.5 12.1 6.9 7.2 7.3 2.3Business (S.T. + L.T.) June 2012 1340 0.4 0.5 0.7 7.0 4.5 5.0 4.8 5.0Private (Consumer+Business) May 2012 2963 0.5 0.5 0.5 5.8 5.0 5.4 5.4 5.7Gov. of Canada securities outstanding July 2012 638 0.4 -1.4 2.6 9.3 4.7 5.8 5.9 6.4

INTEREST AND EXCHANGE RATESReference Last 1 week 2 w. Average of last Thursdays 13 w. 26 w. 52 w.Thursday day ago ago 13 w. 26 w. 52 w. ago ago ago

UNITED STATESINTEREST RATES

Federal Funds Target Rate * 23 Aug 12 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25Prime Rate * 23 Aug 12 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.25 3.253-month Treasury Bills * 23 Aug 12 0.11 0.09 0.11 0.09 0.09 0.06 0.10 0.09 0.012-year Bonds * 23 Aug 12 0.26 0.29 0.28 0.27 0.29 0.27 0.30 0.30 0.215-year Bonds * 23 Aug 12 0.69 0.82 0.73 0.68 0.79 0.84 0.76 0.86 0.9510-year Bonds * 23 Aug 12 1.67 1.84 1.65 1.59 1.80 1.90 1.76 1.99 2.2230-year Bonds * 23 Aug 12 2.78 2.96 2.75 2.69 2.92 3.00 2.85 3.13 3.59Corporate High-yield (Lehman) * 23 Aug 12 6.78 6.87 6.76 7.25 7.25 7.81 7.84 7.16 8.76Corporate Invest. Grade (Lehman) * 23 Aug 12 2.96 3.12 3.03 3.15 3.24 3.48 3.43 3.33 3.74

SPREADSCorp. High-yield - Treas. 10y. * 23 Aug 12 5.12 5.03 5.11 5.66 5.45 5.91 6.08 5.17 6.54Corp. Invest. grade - Treas. 10y. * 23 Aug 12 1.30 1.28 1.38 1.56 1.44 1.58 1.67 1.34 1.52Treasuries 30y. - 3-m. T.B. * 23 Aug 12 2.67 2.87 2.64 2.59 2.83 2.94 2.75 3.04 3.58

EXCHANGE RATEMajor currencies, traded-weighted * 23 Aug 12 74.51 74.33 74.48 75.04 74.05 73.14 74.95 72.49 69.17

CANADAINTEREST RATES

Prime Rate * 23 Aug 12 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00Target overnight rate * 23 Aug 12 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.0030-day commercial paper * 23 Aug 12 1.22 1.17 1.19 1.18 1.19 1.17 1.19 1.13 1.153-month Treasury Bills * 23 Aug 12 1.01 1.01 0.98 0.93 0.95 0.91 0.99 0.94 0.901-year Treasury Bills * 23 Aug 12 1.12 1.18 1.13 1.03 1.08 1.01 1.08 1.04 0.925-year Bonds * 23 Aug 12 1.36 1.51 1.40 1.28 1.42 1.41 1.40 1.48 1.6010-year Bonds * 23 Aug 12 1.84 1.96 1.81 1.75 1.90 2.00 1.88 2.05 2.4630-year Bonds * 23 Aug 12 2.41 2.49 2.34 2.33 2.46 2.59 2.40 2.64 3.08

SPREADSPrime - 30d. Commercial paper * 23 Aug 12 1.78 1.83 1.81 1.82 1.81 1.83 1.81 1.87 1.85Long Term - Short Term * 23 Aug 12 1.40 1.48 1.36 1.40 1.51 1.68 1.41 1.70 2.18

CANADA UNITED STATES SPREADS3-month T-Bills * 23 Aug 12 0.90 0.92 0.87 0.83 0.86 0.85 0.89 0.85 0.89Long Term Bonds * 23 Aug 12 -0.37 -0.47 -0.41 -0.36 -0.46 -0.42 -0.45 -0.49 -0.51

EXCHANGE RATEUS$ /CDN$ (GTIS) * 23 Aug 12 1.0061 1.0136 1.0090 0.9869 0.9946 0.9912 0.9742 1.0024 1.0119Trade-weighted (1990=100) G-10 * 23 Aug 12 113.8 114.5 114.1 111.7 112.4 111.6 110.2 112.8 113.1

STOCK INDICES Monthly Growth (%) Growth Over (%) SinceReference Past Prev. Month beginning of yearThursday Level Month Month Before 3 Months 6 Months 1 Year ref. prec.

Dow Jones (U.S.) * 23 Aug 12 13057.5 2.6 0.6 1.2 4.5 0.6 16.8 6.2 -3.4S&P 500 (U.S.) * 23 Aug 12 1402.1 3.8 1.2 1.2 6.3 2.8 20.6 10.8 -7.5NASDAQ (U.S.) * 23 Aug 12 3053.4 5.6 -0.1 1.5 7.1 3.3 24.8 16.6 -8.2S&P/TSX (Can.) * 23 Aug 12 12062.5 4.5 1.0 -1.1 4.3 -5.3 -2.2 1.1 -7.7

* Update (1) Commercial Banks (2) Not seasonnally adjusted Source: Datastream

Page 9: Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary • At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced on the whole.

WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

ECONOMIC TABLES

August 27, 2012 9

TABLE 2 - UNITED STATES ECONOMIC INDICATORSAugust 24, 2012

Annualized Growth (%) Cumulated since

Growth Rates Unless Reference Past Prev. Month Average of the last Since beginning of year

Otherwise Indicated Period Month Month Before 3 Mos. 6 Mos. 12 Mos. 12 Mos. ref. prec.

Index of 12 Leading Indicators July 2012 0.4 -0.4 0.3 0.7 3.3 2.9 1.5 2.1 5.9Consumer Confidence Index (1985=100) July 2012 65.9 62.7 64.4 64.3 67.1 59.7 59.2 66.3 63.6I.S.M. Manufacturing Index (level) July 2012 49.8 49.7 53.5 51.0 52.3 52.5 51.4 52.5 57.2

July 2012 57.2 51.7 55.6 54.8 56.8 56.6 57.2 57.2 58.4

DOMESTIC DEMANDSales new autos & light trucks (000,000) July 2012 14.1 14.4 14.0 14.1 14.2 13.8 12.4 14.2 12.6Retail Sales July 2012 0.8 -0.7 -0.1 -2.2 4.3 6.4 4.1 5.4 8.2

- Motor vehicle July 2012 0.8 -0.5 0.8 2.5 6.8 8.0 8.2 7.7 12.8- Other July 2012 0.8 -0.8 -0.3 -3.2 3.8 6.0 3.2 4.9 8.2

Consumer Spending: Total ($ current) June 2012 0.0 -0.1 0.2 2.2 3.8 4.4 3.6 3.9 5.1Total ($ constant) June 2012 -0.1 0.1 0.2 1.5 2.1 2.0 2.0 1.8 2.9

Personal Income June 2012 0.5 0.3 0.2 4.3 4.5 3.7 3.5 3.0 5.8Personal Savings Rate (3) June 2012 4.4 4.0 3.6 4.0 3.8 3.7 4.7 3.8 4.8New Orders June 2012 -0.5 0.5 -0.7 -5.5 0.2 7.8 2.5 4.6 12.4

- Non-Defence Capital Goods exc. Aircraft * July 2012 -3.4 -2.7 2.3 -9.3 -1.2 5.0 -5.6 2.8 11.9Unfilled Orders * June 2012 0.8 0.4 0.0 1.7 8.0 9.3 8.0 9.2 9.9Business Inventories June 2012 0.1 0.3 0.3 3.6 5.7 7.7 5.0 6.3 10.2Inventories / Shipments Businesses June 2012 1.29 1.27 1.26 1.27 1.27 1.26 1.26 1.27 1.26Manufacturers' Shipments June 2012 -1.1 0.3 -0.2 -0.8 2.9 8.0 2.9 5.2 12.5Manufacturers' Inventories June 2012 0.1 -0.1 -0.2 -0.6 3.6 8.5 3.4 5.7 11.9Inventories / Shipments Manuf. June 2012 1.29 1.27 1.28 1.28 1.28 1.28 1.28 1.28 1.28Housing Starts (000) (1) July 2012 746 754 706 735 730 697 614 728 583New Home Sales * July 2012 3.6 -3.5 3.9 10.4 29.2 13.6 25.3 19.7 -10.6Existing Home Sales * July 2012 2.1 -5.1 0.5 -4.5 5.3 9.5 9.9 7.9 -3.6

PRODUCTIONIndustrial Production July 2012 0.6 0.1 0.1 2.9 4.3 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.3

- Consumer Goods July 2012 0.6 -0.4 0.9 3.8 1.4 2.5 1.8 2.2 2.0- Hitech goods July 2012 1.6 1.2 -0.5 5.1 0.1 1.0 0.8 -0.7 8.0

EXTERNAL AND FISCAL BALANCESExports June 2012 0.9 0.3 -0.9 6.1 4.4 9.0 7.1 5.9 16.2Imports June 2012 -1.5 -0.8 -1.6 -0.8 5.2 8.9 2.2 5.7 15.6Merch. Trade Balance ($ billions) June 2012 -42.9 -48.0 -50.6 -47.2 -48.8 -47.8 -50.3 -48.8 -46.5Real merchandise trade balance June 2012 -44.2 -47.7 -48.9 -46.9 -47.4 -47.4 -50.5 -47.4 -48.4Federal budget balance last 12 months (2) July 2012 -1170.7 -1230.5 -1213.8 -1225.0 -652.1 -730.9

INFLATION AND COSTSConsumer Prices July 2012 0.0 0.0 -0.3 -0.5 1.6 2.8 1.4 2.2 2.9

- Excluding Food and Energy July 2012 0.1 0.2 0.2 2.5 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2 1.4PCE Deflator exc. Food and Energy July 2012 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.2Industrial Prices, Finished Goods July 2012 0.3 0.1 -1.0 -4.2 0.0 3.7 0.5 2.0 5.9Average Hourly Earnings (4) July 2012 0.1 0.3 -0.1 1.4 1.4 1.7 1.3 1.5 2.1Industrial Capacity Utilization Rate July 2012 79.3 78.9 78.9 79.0 78.9 78.3 77.0 78.9 76.3Median Price, Single-Family Homes (5) * July 2012 -0.8 5.2 3.5 61.0 15.8 0.7 9.6 4.6 -4.6

LABOUR MARKETNew Jobs (000) (6) July 2012 163 64 87 105 131 153 1838 1059 1061

- Manufacturing (000) July 2012 25 10 13 16 22 19 222 182 193- Services (000) July 2012 139 51 102 97 116 130 1565 891 775

Average weekly hours (6) July 2012 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8 2.4 2.4 2.0 2.4 2.5Civilian Unemployment Rate (7) July 2012 8.3 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.5 9.1 8.2 9.0

NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AND OTHER Annualized Growth RatesQUARTERLY INDICATORS Q2 2012 Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q2 2011 2011 2010 2009

GDP Chained 2005 dollars 1.5 2.0 4.1 1.3 2.5 0.1 1.8 2.4 -3.1Consumption 1.5 2.4 2.0 1.7 1.0 3.1 2.5 1.8 -1.9Residential Construction 9.8 20.6 12.0 1.4 4.2 -1.4 -1.4 -3.7 -22.4Business Investment 5.4 7.5 9.5 19.0 14.5 -1.3 8.6 0.7 -18.1

- Machinery and Equipment 7.2 5.4 8.8 18.3 7.8 11.1 11.0 8.9 -16.4Government Spending -1.4 -3.0 -2.2 -2.9 -0.8 -7.0 -3.1 0.6 3.7Exports 5.3 4.4 1.4 6.1 4.1 5.7 6.7 11.1 -9.1Imports 6.0 3.1 4.9 4.7 0.1 4.2 4.8 12.5 -13.5Change in Inventories (1) (2) 66.3 56.9 70.5 -4.3 27.5 30.3 31.0 50.9 -139.0GDP Deflator 1.5 2.2 0.1 3.0 2.6 2.1 2.1 1.3 0.9Personal Disposable Income 3.3 3.4 -0.2 -1.3 -1.5 4.4 1.3 1.8 -2.8

Q2 2012 Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 2011 2010 2009Labour Productivity (4) 1.6 -0.5 2.8 0.6 1.2 -2.0 0.7 3.1 2.9Unit Labor Costs (4) 1.7 5.6 -3.3 -0.6 -1.3 11.3 1.9 -1.1 -1.3

Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 Q4 2010 2011 2010 2009Current Account (current $) -549.3 -474.6 -432.6 -476.5 -480.0 -418.7 -465.9 -442.0 -381.9

as a % of GDP -3.5 -3.1 -2.9 -3.2 -3.2 -2.8 -3.1 -3.0 -2.7Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 Q4 2010 2011 2010 2009

Corporate Profits (8) -10.4 29.6 6.7 19.3 -13.9 9.8 7.3 26.8 7.5as a % of GDP 12.3 12.7 12.1 12.0 11.6 12.1 12.1 12.6 13.1

* Update Source: Datastream(1) Annual Rate (5) Existing Homes Sold(2) $ Billions (6) Non-Farm Payroll Survey(3) Personal Savings as a % of Personal Disposable Income (7) Household Survey(4) Nonfarm Business (8) Current $ and before taxes

Monthly Growth (%)

- Non-manufacturing (level)

Page 10: Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary • At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced on the whole.

WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

ECONOMIC TABLES

August 27, 2012 10

TABLE 3 - CANADIAN ECONOMIC INDICATORSAugust 24, 2012

Annualized Growth (%) Cumulated since

Growth Rates Unless Reference Past Prev. Month Average of the last Since beginning of year

Otherwise Indicated Period Month Month Before 3 Mos. 6 Mos. 12 Mos. 12 Mos. ref. prec.

Index of Leading Indicators (Stat. Can.) April 2012 0.3 0.3 0.7 6.8 5.5 5.6 4.9 5.4 7.3CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -1.9 -4.2 -2.3 -22.3 3.2 -4.8 -10.8 -5.5 1.8

DOMESTIC DEMANDNew motor vehicle sales (000) (2) May 2012 1678.7 713.7 655.6Retail Sales ($ current) * June 2012 -0.4 0.2 -0.6 -1.9 1.9 3.9 1.7 3.4 3.7

- Motor vehicle and parts dealers * June 2012 -0.4 -0.5 -1.3 -8.5 5.6 6.3 2.4 7.6 4.6- Other * June 2012 -0.4 0.4 -0.4 0.0 0.9 3.2 1.5 2.3 4.4

Retail Sales ($ constant) * June 2012 -0.1 0.6 -0.8 -2.0 1.1 2.0 0.7 2.2 1.9

Manufacturer's Shipments ($ current) June 2012 -0.4 0.0 -0.7 1.1 0.9 7.1 6.9 5.5 6.8New Orders June 2012 1.7 0.4 -2.7 0.8 2.1 7.3 5.7 4.1 8.7

- Durables June 2012 5.2 3.4 -3.5 13.8 5.9 9.1 10.7 5.3 11.2Unfilled Orders June 2012 2.2 0.5 0.2 13.2 5.6 14.1 9.9 12.6 5.1Manufacturer's Inventories June 2012 -1.7 1.2 1.3 2.4 2.4 6.4 2.3 4.8 6.5Inventories / Shipments Ratio June 2012 1.32 1.34 1.32 1.33 1.33 1.32 1.38 1.33 1.34Manufacturer's Shipments ($ constant) June 2012 0.1 0.6 -0.2 5.8 2.0 4.6 7.7 4.1 2.8

Housing Starts (000) (1) July 2012 208.5 222.1 216.2 215.6 219.6 209.7 213.1 216.8 188.7Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 0.0 -1.7 -3.4 -13.9 3.4 6.1 1.9 4.3 -1.9Number of commercial bankrupties (2) Oct 1900 2.9 -9.2 0.0 -2.7 -1.7 -8.8 -9.8 -10.0 -13.6

PRODUCTION Real Domestic Product May 2012 0.1 0.3 0.1 1.0 2.0 2.2 2.4 1.9 2.9

- Manufacturing May 2012 -0.5 0.0 0.7 -1.2 3.3 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.7- Construction May 2012 -0.2 0.1 0.6 4.7 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.2 5.2

Services May 2012 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.5 1.8 2.0 1.8 1.8 2.2

EXTERNAL, FISCAL AND EXCHANGE BALANCESExports June 2012 0.2 0.0 -1.5 -10.9 0.8 11.1 6.8 7.4 11.3Imports June 2012 2.3 1.0 0.0 7.0 5.7 8.2 7.4 6.9 10.9

- Capital Goods June 2012 3.2 -0.7 0.1 11.6 5.9 6.3 4.7 6.3 15.6Merch. Trade Balance ($ millions) June 2012 -1,806 -954 -531 -1,097 -188 278 -1,478 -188 -358Change in Official Reserves June 2012 -2,481 -845 194 -1,044 67 311 3,730 399 6,211

Level (US$): $66.2 billion Fiscal year Fed. budget balance last 12 months ($ billions) May 2012 -21.1 -23.1 -23.5 -32.7 -0.8 -3.3

INFLATION AND COSTSConsumer Prices July 2012 -0.1 -0.4 -0.1 0.1 1.9 2.3 1.3 1.9 2.9

- Excluding Food and Energy July 2012 -0.3 -0.4 0.1 0.5 1.5 1.6 1.3 1.6 1.6- Core inflation (4) July 2012 -0.1 -0.4 0.2 0.9 1.7 2.0 1.7 2.0 1.5

Average Hourly Earnings (2) July 2012 -0.8 -0.1 -0.3 -2.4 2.9 2.3 3.6 2.7 2.2Price of New Housing icluding land June 2012 0.2 0.3 0.2 2.9 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.0Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 -0.8 -0.5 -1.5 -9.8 2.2 2.2 -1.0 0.1 8.4Industrial Prices (1992=100) June 2012 -0.3 -0.1 0.1 0.6 0.7 2.9 0.4 1.2 4.6

LABOUR MARKETLabour Force July 2012 0.0 -0.1 0.1 1.4 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.8 1.1Job creation (000) July 2012 -30.4 7.3 7.7 -5.1 20.4 11.6 139.2 124.6 175.4

- Manufacturing July 2012 -18.4 -0.8 36.4 5.7 9.9 2.4 28.8 69.7 -7.7- Services July 2012 -17.0 28.4 -3.4 2.7 5.5 7.0 84.4 26.0 124.7- Full Time July 2012 21.2 29.3 1.4 17.3 29.1 16.6 198.9 171.3 177.4- Part Time July 2012 -51.6 -22.0 6.3 -22.4 -8.8 -5.0 -59.7 -46.7 -2.0

Unemployment Rate July 2012 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.5

NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AND OTHER Annualized Growth RatesQUARTERLY INDICATORS Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 Q4 2010 2011 2010 2009

GDP Chained (2002) $ 1.9 1.9 4.5 -1.0 3.6 3.1 2.4 3.2 -2.8Consumption 0.9 2.8 2.1 2.1 1.3 4.4 2.4 3.3 0.4Business Investments 4.9 4.9 1.9 13.8 14.6 13.5 13.1 7.3 -20.8

-Machinery and Equipment 4.0 -3.7 -12.1 28.8 13.4 5.0 12.5 11.8 -19.5Residential Construction 12.3 3.0 10.5 2.1 5.4 -0.9 2.3 10.2 -8.0Government Expenditures -1.7 0.4 1.5 -0.5 -0.4 2.7 0.8 2.4 3.6Final Domestic Demand 1.3 1.6 1.7 2.2 2.3 4.8 3.0 4.5 -2.1Exports 2.5 7.2 15.5 -4.9 4.2 8.8 4.6 6.4 -13.8Imports 4.4 2.3 -3.9 14.3 10.5 -0.5 7.0 13.1 -13.4Change in Inventories (1) 9.4 5.3 11.2 21.7 13.1 0.2 12.8 8.9 -0.5Real Disposible Income -0.3 2.5 -0.3 0.3 0.8 5.0 1.3 3.5 0.9Personal savings Rate 2.9 3.1 3.3 3.9 4.3 4.4 3.6 4.8 4.6GDP Price Deflator 0.6 4.2 1.3 2.9 4.6 6.0 3.4 2.9 -1.9Corporate Profits (nominal) -10.0 21.4 18.2 -4.3 21.7 43.0 15.4 21.2 -33.1

as a % of GDP 12.1 12.5 12.1 11.8 12.0 11.7 12.1 11.1 9.8Indust. Capacity Utilization Rate 80.7 80.5 79.9 79.1 79.7 78.0 79.8 77.3 72.0Labour Productivity, Business Sector 0.4 3.1 2.7 -3.7 2.7 0.4 0.8 1.5 0.0Unit Labour Cost, Business Sector 1.6 3.2 -2.8 3.9 2.3 2.6 2.1 0.8 1.9

Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 Q4 2010 2011 2010 2009Current Account (current $) (1) -41.1 -38.7 -47.8 -63.7 -43.4 -41.1 -48.4 -50.9 -45.2

as a % of GDP -2.3 -2.2 -2.8 -3.7 -2.6 -2.5 -2.8 -3.0 -2.8Source: Datastrream and Canadian Real Estate Association* Update(1) Annual Rate, $ billions(2) Not Seasonally Adjusted(3) Current and before taxes

Monthly Growth (%)

(4) C.P.I. excluding the 8 most volatile components and the effect of indirect taxes

Page 11: Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary • At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced on the whole.

WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

ECONOMIC TABLES

August 27, 2012 11

TABLE 4 - PROVINCIAL ECONOMIC INDICATORSAugust 24, 2012

Annualized Growth (%) Cumulated since

Growth Rates Unless Reference Past Prev. Month Average of the last Since beginning of year

Otherwise Indicated Period Month Month Before 3 Mos. 6 Mos. 12 Mos. 12 Mos. ref. prec.

QUEBECDOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 0.7 -0.6 -0.7 -3.7 -1.1 2.5 0.0 1.6 2.4Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 -0.2 2.1 -3.9 -4.8 -2.8 3.3 1.6 0.3 4.3Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 50.6 49.1 42.9 47.5 49.6 48.2 47.8 47.5 47.4Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 1.3 -4.0 -0.6 -6.0 6.3 4.6 5.4 6.4 -7.2Wages and Salaries March 2012 0.4 0.3 -0.7 0.6 3.7 3.4 2.6 2.5 5.4Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 -2.2 7.1 -7.9 16.0 -10.3 9.0 7.1 6.0 3.2CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -2.8 -5.6 -1.0 -21.1 1.0 -6.0 -11.5 -6.9 3.1Number of commercial bankrupties (1) * Apr 2012 -5.6 -1.0 -21.1 1.0 -6.0 -11.5 #VALUE! 3.1 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 -0.1 -0.4 -0.2 -0.3 3.0 2.7 1.9 2.3 2.9Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 -1.0 -0.4 -1.0 -3.5 3.5 2.7 4.6 3.3 1.5Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 0.1 0.1 0.0 1.2 2.0 1.9 1.6 1.7 3.1Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 0.4 0.5 0.4 3.5 4.5 4.2 5.1 4.2 5.3

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 -28.7 -4.6 14.7 -6.2 6.9 -1.1 -13.3 50.8 8.2Unemployment rate July 2012 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.7 7.9 7.9 7.2 8.0 7.6Participation rate July 2012 64.5 65.1 65.3 64.9 64.9 64.9 65.0 64.9 65.4

ONTARIODOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 -0.3 0.3 -1.2 -3.3 2.1 2.7 1.0 2.4 4.2Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 0.5 -1.1 2.2 9.1 2.6 7.5 10.7 7.5 4.5Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 74.5 72.9 79.3 75.6 79.6 74.4 77.3 79.6 68.3Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 -0.6 -1.8 -5.8 -23.5 0.0 6.9 -1.6 4.1 -3.1Wages and Salaries March 2012 0.3 0.5 -0.1 2.8 1.9 2.5 1.5 1.5 5.2Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 3.7 7.8 -9.9 13.9 8.6 7.9 14.4 9.1 6.2CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -1.0 -0.8 -8.9 -32.7 9.7 -5.8 -11.8 -5.5 0.8Number of commercial bankrupties (1) Apr 2012 #REF! #REF! #REF! 9.7 -5.8 -11.8 #VALUE! 0.8 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 -0.2 -0.7 0.0 -0.4 1.8 2.2 0.7 1.8 3.3Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 -0.5 -1.1 0.5 -1.3 3.4 1.6 3.0 1.9 2.9Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 0.4 0.4 0.3 4.7 4.1 4.4 4.1 4.5 2.9Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 -0.8 -0.8 -1.7 -5.4 9.3 6.6 3.4 6.2 6.8

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 10.6 20.2 -18.7 4.0 7.8 3.9 47.2 39.1 76.4Unemployment rate July 2012 7.9 7.7 7.8 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.6 7.8 7.9Participation rate July 2012 66.6 66.4 66.3 66.4 66.4 66.5 66.8 66.5 67.0

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADORDOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 -1.4 1.7 1.0 9.8 3.6 4.8 3.9 4.0 4.6Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 -8.4 0.4 10.6 23.3 64.5 21.7 144.1 45.4 13.4Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 4.3 3.8 3.7 3.9 3.6 3.6 3.9 3.9 3.6Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 -22.3 -13.0 41.0 123.2 13.9 18.4 0.8 14.3 -5.5Wages and Salaries March 2012 0.1 1.6 0.6 8.4 7.0 7.5 6.4 6.6 8.0Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 -2.8 -13.4 29.5 126.5 -9.0 21.2 12.7 12.7 32.9CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 3.3 2.1 -3.0 18.5 -7.5 -13.0 -7.1 -16.3 2.3Number of commercial bankrupties (1) * Apr 2012 2.1 -3.0 18.5 -7.5 -13.0 -7.1 0.0 2.3 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 0.1 -0.8 -0.6 -0.5 2.7 3.0 1.6 2.5 3.2Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 -1.8 -1.8 -0.6 -14.6 2.3 8.3 6.8 9.0 2.9Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 0.1 0.2 -0.1 1.3 -0.1 1.1 0.1 -0.3 5.4Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 1.3 1.2 -6.4 -6.1 6.1 8.3 8.6 9.0 6.1

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 -3.2 0.1 -1.7 -1.6 0.0 0.2 2.5 0.0 1.8Unemployment July 2012 12.8 13.0 12.0 12.6 12.7 13.0 12.2 12.8 12.1Participation rate July 2012 61.0 62.0 61.3 61.4 61.4 60.9 59.8 61.4 60.2

PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDDOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 -1.6 -0.5 1.4 -3.1 3.4 6.3 0.9 5.2 3.8Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 -3.3 8.3 -9.9 -14.7 9.0 4.9 4.3 9.0 -2.3Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 1.2 1.3 0.7 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.2 0.8 0.9Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 30.6 -20.0 -4.9 -53.1 -1.6 19.3 39.6 21.1 -6.3Wages and Salaries March 2012 0.4 1.7 -1.4 0.4 1.8 3.3 1.6 2.1 4.5Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 9.0 16.0 9.7 132.3 4.9 22.4 34.5 35.0 -1.2CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -11.4 1.6 -6.0 -5.5 -13.6 -5.9 -12.5 -9.7 3.8Number of commercial bankrupties (1) * Apr 2012 1.6 -6.0 -5.5 -13.6 -5.9 -12.5 #VALUE! 3.8 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 0.0 -0.6 -0.3 -0.4 2.8 2.6 1.5 2.3 2.8Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 -1.3 -0.3 -0.1 -6.3 -0.7 2.6 2.9 2.9 3.2Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 0.1 -0.4 0.1 -1.2 -1.2 2.2 0.5 1.3 0.4Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 -15.4 10.3 -4.7 -47.7 3.0 2.7 -19.0 9.1 4.9

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 0.9 0.7 -1.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 1.5 0.2 2.2Unemployment July 2012 10.2 11.3 11.3 10.9 11.0 11.2 11.4 11.2 11.5Participation rate July 2012 68.0 68.0 67.3 67.8 67.7 68.1 68.2 67.8 68.0Source: Datastream and CREA* Update (1) Not Seasonally Adjusted (2) Annual Rate

Monthly Growth (%)

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WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

ECONOMIC TABLES

August 27, 2012 12

TABLE 4 - PROVINCIAL ECONOMIC INDICATORS (Continues from page A4)August 24, 2012

Annualized Growth (%) Cumulated sinceGrowth Rates Unless Reference Past Prev. Month Average of the last Since beginning of yearOtherwise Indicated Period Month Month Before 3 Mos. 6 Mos. 12 Mos. 12 Mos. ref. prec.

NOVA SCOTIADOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 -3.4 1.0 -0.1 -3.0 -1.5 3.2 -2.8 1.6 2.2Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 1.7 1.7 -1.7 -13.2 -4.1 0.3 -2.9 -4.2 15.7Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 2.8 4.1 4.2 3.7 3.9 4.2 6.0 3.8 4.5Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 4.6 -2.6 1.1 -17.2 2.1 10.7 10.5 11.0 -2.3Wages and Salaries March 2012 0.6 0.7 -0.7 0.8 0.7 2.1 1.6 1.0 4.6Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 -4.3 20.8 0.1 69.1 -23.6 -11.6 -21.7 -18.7 11.7CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -4.2 -5.1 -5.6 -33.9 5.3 -9.2 -12.3 -6.3 -4.5Number of commercial bankrupties (1) * Apr 2012 -5.1 -5.6 -33.9 5.3 -9.2 -12.3 #VALUE! -4.5 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 -0.2 -0.6 -0.4 -0.8 2.5 2.8 1.4 2.3 3.9Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 -1.2 -0.5 -1.2 -7.0 5.7 2.6 4.8 3.9 2.2Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 -0.1 0.1 0.1 2.0 2.5 1.8 2.2 1.9 1.6Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 -2.1 -1.2 -2.8 -11.1 5.9 5.0 2.6 5.8 2.3

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 2.5 -0.5 -1.0 0.3 -0.3 0.3 3.8 -2.9 4.6Unemployment July 2012 9.4 9.6 9.2 9.4 9.0 8.7 9.5 8.9 9.1Participation rate July 2012 64.4 64.2 64.0 64.2 64.1 63.9 64.1 64.1 63.8

NEW BRUNSWICKDOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 0.0 -1.4 -0.4 -9.2 -1.3 2.8 -2.4 0.8 4.7Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 -12.6 9.5 -18.2 -15.7 -11.7 6.1 -7.1 -1.5 15.1Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 3.7 4.6 4.2 4.2 3.1 3.3 6.4 3.1 2.9Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 -2.8 0.9 -2.2 -11.5 3.6 -2.4 1.5 -3.2 -1.5Wages and Salaries March 2012 0.5 0.4 -0.3 0.1 1.1 3.0 1.5 1.3 4.6Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 -17.1 -2.8 5.5 47.3 13.3 6.5 -18.8 -0.3 18.4CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -1.4 3.4 -6.6 -14.8 20.6 -1.7 2.4 4.4 -7.8Number of commercial bankrupties (1) * Apr 2012 3.4 -6.6 -14.8 20.6 -1.7 2.4 #VALUE! -7.8 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 -0.2 -0.9 -0.3 -1.1 2.0 2.9 0.9 2.1 3.2Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 0.5 0.7 -3.7 -12.2 3.5 2.1 3.5 2.6 3.1Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 0.0 -0.2 0.0 -1.0 -0.7 0.1 -0.1 0.1 1.1Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 -3.6 -1.2 4.2 4.4 1.6 1.7 -1.4 0.5 1.0

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 -1.1 -1.9 5.3 0.8 -0.3 0.4 5.1 -0.8 -4.8Unemployment July 2012 10.0 9.5 9.4 9.6 9.8 9.6 10.2 9.8 9.7Participation rate July 2012 63.3 63.2 63.4 63.3 63.0 63.0 62.7 63.1 62.9

MANITOBADOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 0.1 -0.5 0.0 -3.2 -0.4 3.3 0.4 2.0 4.1Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 3.0 -0.9 -1.3 -1.0 1.7 2.7 -2.0 1.6 8.0Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 6.4 5.1 12.4 8.0 7.2 7.0 9.0 7.5 5.7Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 -3.3 -1.8 -5.8 -8.0 -2.7 6.4 -1.4 3.7 2.9Wages and Salaries March 2012 0.7 0.1 -0.2 1.7 2.8 4.3 3.3 3.1 5.0Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 -3.7 -1.6 -5.9 -7.5 -0.4 13.4 -5.5 8.5 9.4CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -2.1 3.7 -2.7 -19.3 2.0 -2.5 -6.3 -8.0 16.6Number of commercial bankrupties (1) * Apr 2012 3.7 -2.7 -19.3 2.0 -2.5 -6.3 #VALUE! 16.6 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 0.0 -0.4 0.3 2.8 1.8 2.2 1.8 1.6 2.9Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 0.2 -0.3 0.2 0.3 0.8 1.3 3.5 1.3 3.5Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 0.7 0.2 0.2 4.8 3.7 4.6 4.4 4.2 4.6Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 -3.0 -0.3 5.8 8.6 1.8 5.9 3.7 5.5 4.8

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 -3.3 -2.3 1.0 -1.5 -0.3 0.2 2.8 -1.5 1.6Unemployment July 2012 5.7 5.2 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.7 5.4 5.4Participation rate July 2012 68.8 68.9 69.1 69.0 69.0 69.1 69.2 69.1 69.4

SASKATCHEWANDOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 0.1 2.0 0.7 13.3 3.9 7.5 5.3 6.5 6.5Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 8.0 -1.2 2.8 23.9 4.3 16.5 14.5 13.6 11.4Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 7.5 10.9 7.0 8.5 9.3 8.6 6.7 9.4 6.9Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 -1.3 5.2 -6.7 -10.8 19.1 21.5 20.0 26.6 7.3Wages and Salaries March 2012 0.5 0.8 0.3 5.6 10.2 7.4 7.8 7.8 7.2Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 -4.8 -7.5 6.3 28.0 3.7 25.0 3.6 16.2 14.2CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -0.7 0.5 0.1 4.9 0.1 3.2 7.5 -0.8 1.3Number of commercial bankrupties (1) * Apr 2012 0.5 0.1 4.9 0.1 3.2 7.5 #VALUE! 1.3 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 -0.2 -0.3 0.2 2.2 1.7 2.3 1.7 1.9 2.7Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 -0.4 1.5 -0.2 2.9 3.5 3.2 5.1 3.3 2.5Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 0.1 0.1 0.5 3.9 4.2 3.0 3.5 3.4 3.1Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 2.6 0.4 -4.7 -8.9 3.4 7.4 7.9 7.2 5.7

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 0.8 0.5 -0.4 0.3 1.3 0.9 10.7 9.4 2.0Unemployment July 2012 5.0 4.9 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.8 4.9 4.9 5.1Participation rate July 2012 69.7 69.6 69.4 69.6 69.5 69.2 69.2 69.4 69.4Source: Datastream and CREA* Update (1) Not Seasonally Adjusted (2) Annual Rate

Monthly Growth (%)

Page 13: Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary • At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced on the whole.

WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

ECONOMIC TABLES

August 27, 2012 13

TABLE 4 - PROVINCIAL ECONOMIC INDICATORS (Continues from page A5)August 24, 2012

Annualized Growth (%) Cumulated sinceGrowth Rates Unless Reference Past Prev. Month Average of the last Since beginning of yearOtherwise Indicated Period Month Month Before 3 Mos. 6 Mos. 12 Mos. 12 Mos. ref. prec.

ALBERTADOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 -1.3 1.1 -0.4 0.8 6.7 8.5 6.6 8.8 5.7Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 -2.6 -2.8 -1.2 -13.1 1.3 14.9 5.8 10.6 16.5Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 31.5 33.9 33.6 33.0 34.4 31.6 25.5 33.2 22.7Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 -0.2 0.4 -1.8 9.4 27.3 13.5 10.6 13.8 4.8Wages and Salaries March 2012 1.2 1.0 -0.3 6.6 8.2 8.2 8.2 7.7 8.5Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 1.0 -8.3 -3.3 -20.8 1.6 15.6 -1.1 9.2 14.1CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -4.2 1.8 -1.7 -8.0 -2.0 1.0 -6.2 -1.8 8.4Number of commercial bankrupties (1) * Apr 2012 1.8 -1.7 -8.0 -2.0 1.0 -6.2 #VALUE! 8.4 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 -0.1 0.2 -0.3 0.1 0.2 2.1 0.9 1.4 2.0Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 -0.8 1.6 0.4 3.9 2.7 3.1 5.6 3.8 1.3Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 0.2 0.1 0.2 2.6 1.5 0.6 1.2 0.8 0.4Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 0.6 -1.4 0.8 2.3 5.7 1.3 3.1 1.7 0.0

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 5.8 -8.6 9.8 2.3 2.5 3.8 45.7 16.8 70.4Unemployment July 2012 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.6 4.8 5.0 5.5 4.8 5.7Participation rate July 2012 73.3 73.3 73.7 73.4 73.7 73.9 74.0 73.7 73.4

BRITISH COLUMBIADOMESTIC DEMAND AND REVENUE

Retail Sales * June 2012 -1.0 0.0 -0.3 -1.5 2.6 4.1 1.8 4.0 2.0Manufacturing Shipments June 2012 0.0 1.4 -0.9 2.3 0.1 3.6 3.0 1.1 6.9Housing Starts (000) (2) July 2012 26.0 36.4 28.2 30.2 28.0 27.7 29.3 28.1 25.9Number of existing homes sold (MLS) July 2012 1.9 -0.8 -3.5 -17.1 -8.2 -2.5 -3.2 -8.0 0.8Wages and Salaries March 2012 0.7 0.4 -0.4 2.3 3.6 4.4 3.6 3.4 5.4Value of merchandise exports (1) June 2012 -2.5 3.2 -1.2 22.5 -16.2 8.1 -7.4 0.5 11.9CFIB Business Barometer ® July 2012 -7.9 -3.1 1.2 -3.6 -5.5 -5.0 -10.9 -7.9 1.1Number of commercial bankrupties (1) * Apr 2012 -3.1 1.2 -3.6 -5.5 -5.0 -10.9 #VALUE! 1.1 #VALUE!

PRICESConsumer Price Index (1) July 2012 -0.3 -0.3 0.3 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.1 1.5 2.5Average Hourly Earnings (1) July 2012 -1.8 1.5 -0.7 -5.4 0.9 1.9 1.0 1.9 1.6Price of New Housing inc. Land (1) June 2012 0.1 0.0 0.0 -0.7 -1.1 -0.5 -1.0 -0.8 -0.6Avg. Price of Existing Homes Sold (MLS) July 2012 -1.4 -1.2 -2.8 -26.8 -9.5 -3.6 -11.3 -8.9 15.8

LABOR MARKETJob creation (000) July 2012 -14.5 3.6 -0.2 -3.7 2.7 2.8 33.4 13.8 13.0Unemployment July 2012 7.0 6.6 7.4 7.0 6.9 6.9 7.3 6.9 7.8Participation rate July 2012 65.0 65.2 65.7 65.3 65.1 65.0 64.9 65.1 65.2

Monthly Growth (%)

Page 14: Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary • At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced on the whole.

WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

ECONOMIC TABLES

August 27, 2012 14

TABLE 5 - INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC INDICATORSAugust 24, 2012

Annualized Growth (%) Cumulated sinceGrowth Rates Unless Reference Past Prev. Month Average of the last Since beginning of year

Otherwise Indicated Period Month Month Before 3 Mos. 6 Mos. 12 Mos. 12 Mos. ref. prec.

OECD leading index April 2012 0.1 0.2 0.2 1.9 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.2 1.7

JAPANConsumer confidence - percenbtage (1) July 2012 40.5 40.8 40.7 40.7 40.2 39.3 37.7 40.1 37.4Retail Sales (1) June 2012 -1.2 -1.4 -7.8 -6.7 0.5 2.0 0.2 4.2 -2.3Industrial Production, Volume Index June 2012 0.4 -3.4 -0.2 -7.7 0.9 1.7 -0.2 3.9 -4.3Exports * July 2012 -1.1 -1.6 -0.9 -7.0 0.8 -1.4 -4.8 -0.5 -2.5Imports * July 2012 -0.9 -6.3 1.4 -9.7 2.9 8.7 -1.2 5.6 11.3Merchandise trade bal. (Billions of ¥) June 2012 -1,666 -4,498 -5,558 -3,907 -3,842 -3,110 35 -23,049 -1,852Current account (Billions of ¥) June 2012 774 282 289 448 471 588 959 2,829 5,374Inflation (CPI) June 2012 -0.4 -0.4 0.0 -0.9 0.7 0.1 -0.1 0.2 -0.5Job offers to applicants ratio June 2012 0.82 0.81 0.79 0.81 0.78 0.73 0.63 0.78 0.62Unemployment Rate June 2012 4.3 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.7 4.5 4.7

Q2 2012 Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 2011 2010 2009Gross Domestic Product (Constant Yen) 1.4 5.5 0.3 7.4 -1.9 -7.7 -0.7 4.6 -5.5

Euro-zoneVolume Retail Sales * June 2012 0.2 0.9 -1.4 -2.5 -1.5 -1.0 -1.0 -1.3 -0.1Industrial Production May 2012 0.6 -1.1 -0.1 -0.8 -3.7 0.3 -2.8 -1.9 5.9Exports June 2012 2.4 0.4 -1.4 2.4 10.9 9.4 14.9 7.8 17.5Imports June 2012 0.0 -0.9 -1.6 -6.9 4.7 5.8 4.1 2.2 19.5Merch. Trade Bal. (Millions of euros) June 2012 10,480 6,785 4,796 7,354 5,371 3,771 3,793 33,440 -14,514Inflation (CPI) July 2012 -0.5 -0.1 -0.1 1.5 3.1 2.7 2.4 2.5 2.6Unemployment Rate June 2012 11.2 11.2 11.1 11.2 11.0 10.7 10.0 11.0 9.9

Q2 2012 Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 2011 2010 2009Gross Domestic Product (Constant Euro) -0.7 0.1 -1.3 0.4 0.7 2.9 1.5 2.0 -4.4

UNITED KINGDOMConsumer Confidence (Diffusion index) July 2012 -18 -21 -22 -20 -21 -22 -18 -22 -20Retail Sales July 2012 0.3 0.8 1.5 4.3 2.1 1.1 2.9 1.5 0.5Manufacturing, energy and mining output June 2012 -2.5 1.0 -0.6 -3.6 -3.2 -2.4 -4.3 -2.9 0.5Exports (1) June 2012 -8.4 5.5 -7.9 -18.1 -0.6 5.8 -3.1 1.6 14.9Imports (1) June 2012 -1.2 -0.4 -2.4 -2.0 0.5 5.8 0.8 3.9 11.6Merchandise Trade Bal. (Millions of £) June 2012 -10,119 -8,364 -9,809 -9,431 -8,918 -8,992 -8,349 -53,339 -47,902Inflation (CPI harmonized) (1) July 2012 0.2 -0.3 0.1 1.9 2.4 3.1 2.4 2.6 3.7Producer price index, manufacturing (1) July 2012 0.0 -0.6 -0.3 -0.2 3.1 4.1 1.7 3.1 5.5House prices July 2012 -0.6 0.8 0.4 -0.2 -0.2 -1.2 -1.3 -0.7 -3.1Unemployment Rate July 2012 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.9 4.6

Q2 2012 Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011 Q1 2011 2011 2010 2009Gross Domestic Product (Constant £) * -1.8 -1.3 -1.4 2.4 -0.4 2.4 0.8 1.8 -4.0

INTEREST AND EXCHANGE RATESReference Current Prev. Week Average of last Thurdays 13 w. 26 w. 52 w.Thursday Week Week Before 13 W. 26 W. 52 W. ago ago ago

JAPANPrime Rate * 23 Aug 12 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.303-month Financing Bill Rate * 23 Aug 12 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10

- Spread with U.S. * 23 Aug 12 -0.01 0.01 -0.01 0.01 0.01 0.04 0.00 0.01 0.09Yield on 10-year Gov't Bonds * 23 Aug 12 0.83 0.86 0.80 0.81 0.88 0.93 0.87 0.98 1.04

- Spread with U.S. * 23 Aug 12 -0.84 -0.98 -0.85 -0.78 -0.93 -0.97 -0.89 -1.01 -1.18Exchange Rate (¥/U.S.$) * 23 Aug 12 78.5 79.4 78.6 79.1 80.1 78.7 79.6 80.0 77.5

Euro Zone3-month Treasury Bills * 23 Aug 12 0.18 0.21 0.23 0.41 0.55 0.94 0.60 0.93 1.48

- Spread with U.S. * 23 Aug 12 0.07 0.12 0.12 0.31 0.46 0.88 0.50 0.84 1.47Yield on 10-year Gov't Bonds * 23 Aug 12 1.77 1.77 1.77 1.77 1.77 1.78 1.77 1.77 2.17

- Spread with U.S. * 23 Aug 12 0.11 -0.07 0.12 0.18 -0.03 -0.12 0.01 -0.22 -0.05Exchange Rate (U.S.$/Euro) * 23 Aug 12 1.26 1.24 1.23 1.24 1.27 1.31 1.25 1.34 1.44

(Yen/Euro) * 23 Aug 12 98.68 97.38 96.53 98.05 102.15 102.84 99.75 106.72 111.31(Euro / £ ) * 23 Aug 12 1.26 1.28 1.27 1.26 1.24 1.20 1.25 1.18 1.13

UNITED KINGDOMPrime Rate * 23-Aug-12 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.503-month Treasury Bills (tender) * 23 Aug 12 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.30 0.36 0.38 0.35 0.40 0.40

- Spread with U.S. * 23 Aug 12 0.13 0.15 0.13 0.21 0.27 0.32 0.25 0.31 0.39Yield on 30-year Gov't Bonds * 23 Aug 12 2.99 3.05 2.95 2.97 3.13 3.22 3.06 3.28 3.76

- Spread with U.S. * 23 Aug 12 0.21 0.09 0.20 0.29 0.21 0.22 0.21 0.16 0.17Exchange Rate (U.S.$ / £ ) * 23 Aug 12 1.59 1.57 1.56 1.56 1.58 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.63

STOCK INDICES Monthly Growth (%) Growth Over (%) SincePast Prev. Month beginning of year

Reference Level Month Month Before 3 Months 6 Months 1 Year ref. prec.

MSCI Eafe * Aug 2012 194 5.2 0.2 -0.1 5.2 -5.6 -3.1 6.3 -7.4

* Update (1) Not Seasonally Adjusted Source: Datastream

Monthly Growth (%)

Page 15: Housing starts in Canada expected to...Housing starts in Canada expected to decline in 2013 Summary • At the national level, the resale housing market appears balanced on the whole.

WEEKLY ECONOMIC LETTER

ECONOMIC TABLES

August 27, 2012 15

Spot Price Weekly Growth (%) Annualized Growth (%)Last Prev. Week For the Last Last

Aug 23 Aug 16 Week Week Before 13 W. 26 W. 52 W. Year

CRB Index

Total 569.8 555.1 2.6 -1.6 2.4 48.1 -9.9 -11.6 644.4

Energy 653.9 646.9 1.1 -0.5 5.4 44.7 -5.1 -3.9 680.2

Grain 575.8 560.6 2.7 -2.6 3.1 239.2 74.5 15.5 498.4

Industrials 474.3 454.4 4.4 -2.8 5.4 17.9 -21.4 -19.5 589.3

Livestock & Meat 366.1 372.1 -1.6 -2.7 0.0 -12.4 -24.2 -3.0 377.4

Precious Metals 1239.4 1163.8 6.5 0.6 2.6 37.5 -19.5 -15.4 1464.9

PRECIOUS METALS

Gold ($/ounce) 1662.50 1603.50 3.7 -0.6 0.5 29.5 -12.4 -3.1 1716.50(AM fixing London)

Platinum ($/ounce) 1549.0 1398.0 10.8 -1.1 1.1 42.8 -19.6 -14.2 1805.0(AM fixing London)

Silver ($/ounce) 30.7 28.2 9.0 0.4 3.5 38.6 -24.0 -23.5 40.2(Handy & Harman)

Palladium ($/ounce troy) 638.0 579.0 10.2 -1.0 1.7 27.8 -21.7 -14.5 746.0

OTHER METALS (LME)

Aluminum ($/tonne) 1,877 1,804 4.1 -3.1 3.2 -18.7 -29.2 -19.5 2,331

Copper ($/tonne) 7,677 7,443 3.1 -1.2 2.8 1.1 -16.4 -14.9 9,017

Zinc ($/tonne) 1,843 1,762 4.6 -4.6 2.5 -7.3 -17.7 -16.3 2,202

Nickel ($/tonne) 16,424 15,462 6.2 0.2 1.6 -13.5 -32.0 -21.1 20,812

Lead ($/tonne) 1,943 1,828 6.3 -4.5 3.9 -0.9 -17.4 -19.3 2,407

Uranium (Neuxco spot $/lb U308) 638 579 10.2 -1.0 1.7 27.8 -21.7 -14.5 746

OTHER COMMODITIES

Oil ($/barrel) 1-month future 95.77 95.35 0.4 2.0 7.2 26.0 -21.0 12.7 85.01(West Texas Intermediate)

Corn (¢/bushel) 827.0 811.5 1.9 -1.6 2.7 248.0 67.2 11.5 742.0(Illinois #2)

Soy beans (¢/bushel) 1753.5 1677.5 4.5 0.4 -0.5 172.7 93.8 26.7 1384.0(Illinois #1)

Pork (¢/lb) 140.0 150.0 -6.7 -3.2 0.0 413.5 48.2 16.7 120.0

Beef (Cattle feeder index) 140.1 138.4 1.2 0.9 0.9 -28.8 -20.0 5.7 132.6(CME)

Woodpulp NBSK 880 880 0.0 0.0 0.0 -8.6 2.3 -13.7 1020Metric ton delivered in U.S.

Natural Gas (mmbtu) 2.81 2.78 1.1 -3.8 -8.5 24.5 10.8 -29.6 3.99Henry Hub future NYMEX

Lumber 2X4 315 309 1.9 2.0 0.0 9.4 39.2 40.0 225

Source: Datastream

All prices are in US dollars

August 24, 2012