Canadian Consumer Confidence Gains for Third Week on Real Estate
Bloomberg) -- Canadian consumer confidence gained for a third consecutive week, as worries about the nation’s economy and real estate market wane, survey data from Nanos Research Group show.
The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index rose to 55 in the week ending March 20, up from 54.6 the previous week. The gauge had reached a 21-month low of 53.6 at the end of February amid the plunge in prices for crude, Canada’s top export.
Confidence in Canada’s real estate market has been gaining in recent weeks amid signs demand in markets such as Toronto and Vancouver is being spurred by falling mortgage rates. Policy makers meanwhile have indicated the economy may be poised to steady from the impact of the oil rout, with Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz last month saying a rate cut in January has bought policy makers some time.
Every week, Nanos Research asks Canadians for their views on personal finances, job security, the outlook for the economy and where real estate prices are headed. This is what the survey data, which is compiled for Bloomberg News, captured for the week through March 20:
*The percentage of Canadians predicting lower home prices fell to 16.7 percent last week, posting its third consecutive decline after rising to a six-year high of 21.4 percent in February. Those predicting higher prices for homes rose to 34.2 percent, its highest reading this year, from 33.9 percent the previous week.
*The share of Canadians who are pessimistic about the prospects for the economy fell for a fifth week to 36.4 percent, from 37.8 percent the previous week. The measure reached the gloomiest levels since the 2008-09 recession in mid-February. The share of optimists rose to 15.5 percent last week, from 14.4 percent. The difference between pessimists and optimists narrowed last week to 20.9 percentage points, after reaching as high as 32.6 points in February.
*The share of Canadians who reported feeling better off in terms of their personal finances gained for the first time in seven weeks, rising to 18.6 percent. The previous week’s reading of 17.9 percent was the lowest since July.
*One area of weakness last week was employment security, with the share of respondents who say they have some insecurity about their job rising to 12.9 percent, from 11.6 percent the previous week. That’s the highest reading since August. The share of those who say their jobs are secure fell to 70.2 percent last week, the lowest since January and down from 71 percent the week before. The reading may be reflecting evidence that the oil shock is rippling through the jobs market, with the February jobless rate rising to a five-month high of 6.8 percent.
