A comprehensive measure of Canada's overall production and consumption of goods and services. GDP is a significant report in FX Market, serving as one of the primary indicators of a country's overall economic health.
Robust GDP growth signals a heightened level of economic activity and often a higher demand for the domestic currency. At the same time, economic expansion raises concerns about inflationary pressures which may prompt monetary authorities to increase interest rates. Thus positive GDP readings are generally bullish for the Canadian Dollar, while negative readings are generally bearish.
Most production reports that lead to Canadian GDP are released before the official GDP number. Therefore, actual GDP figures usually confirm expectations. However, an unexpected release can move markets due to the significance of the figure.
Technically, Gross Domestic Product is calculated in the following way:
GDP = C + I + G + (EX - IM)
where
C = private consumption
I = private investment
G = government expenditure
EX = exports of goods and services
IM = imports of goods and services
The headline figures for GDP are the percentage growth rate from the previous quarter and the annualized percentage change in GDP. Prices used are benchmarked to 1997 prices.
Industrial Product Price Index released by the Statistics Canada measures price changes for major commodities sold by Canadian manufactures. Changes in the IPP index are widely followed as an indicator of commodity inflation.
Measures the prices paid by Canadian manufacturers for key raw materials, including resources not produced in Canada. Also known as the Producer Price Index, the RMPI is an early measure of inflation. Although producers may not pass on changes in raw material prices to consumers immediately, the index will record these cost pressures before they reach the end consumer and affect inflation rates. The headline figure is the percentage change in the price index from the previous month and year.
The index includes prices for raw materials like mineral fuels, vegetable products, animal and animal products, wood, ferrous materials, non-ferrous metals, and non-metallic minerals.