FX.co ★ Canada Private Sector Activity Contracts for 6th Month

The S&P Global Canada Composite PMI increased to 45.5 in May 2024, up from 41.7 in April. This indicates the private sector's activity has now contracted for the sixth month in a row, although the decline was the slowest observed since February. Both the manufacturing sector, at 46.1 (compared to 45.3 previously), and the services sector, at 45.6 (up from 41.5), continued to show contraction. While new orders remained on a downward trend, the rate of this decline has decreased to a four-month low. Additionally, there was a further reduction in work backlogs, and minor job losses were noted throughout the private sector, despite business confidence reaching its highest point in four months. Regarding pricing, input cost inflation has accelerated, remaining above the long-term average. Consequently, the inflation of output charges has also increased, hitting its peak level in over a year.