OTTAWA — The annual pace of inflation held steady in August as lower gasoline and air travel costs helped offset rising prices in other areas as businesses passed on costs related to operating during the pandemic.
Statistics Canada said Wednesday the consumer price index in August rose 0.1 per cent compared with a year ago, matching the 0.1 per cent year-over-year increase recorded in July.
The average economist estimate had been for a year-over-year increase of 0.4 per cent for August, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.
Gasoline prices were down 11.1 per cent compared with August 2019, following a 14.9 per cent decline recorded in July. Excluding gasoline from the inflation calculations, the consumer price index rose by 0.6 per cent in August, Statistics Canada said.
The monthly inflation report noted that air travel costs fell 16 per cent compared with August 2019, following a decline of 8.6 per cent in July as demand has fallen during the pandemic and airlines have offered discounts in response.
However, prices were up in other categories such as personal care services like haircuts, which had a year-over-year increase of 7.2 per cent.
Statistics Canada said the increased prices in the category could be attributed to businesses passing on additional costs related to safety measures needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Royal Bank senior economist Nathan Janzen said consumer demand has held up better than expected over the summer, which has allowed for price growth in some categories as well as letting businesses pass on additional costs.
“The overarching question is how long can that last with unemployment still very high and the economy still running below capacity?”
The country has recouped about two-thirds of the three million jobs lost over March and April. The unemployment rate in August was 10.2 per cent.
A key pillar propping up spending has been government aid, including the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that has paid out over $76.4 billion to 8.75 million people since its introduction.
All that aid will mean that the pace of price growth until the end of the year won’t be as slow as may be expected under the economic circumstances, Janzen said.
The CERB will start winding down at the end of the month, and the federal Liberals have promised a $37-billion replacement package of changes to employment insurance and a trio of benefits.
An analysis published Tuesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives estimated 2.7 million people receiving CERB payments will receive less when the new system kicks in.
“Income supports are critical to individuals but, also, to our country’s economic stability and positioning for a recovery,” the centre’s senior economist, David Macdonald, wrote in his analysis.
“Consumer spending, largely due to the rapid roll out of the CERB, has been mostly responsible for keeping the economy afloat since March.”
The Bank of Canada intends to keep its key policy interest rate at 0.25 per cent, which is as low as it will go, until inflation is back at the central bank’s two per cent target.
The hope is that by keeping its rate low, the central bank can drive down rates on mortgages and loans to make it easier for people to borrow and spend to aid the economy as it recuperates from the COVID-19 crisis.
Experts suggest the Bank of Canada’s key rate could stay where it is until late 2022 or even into 2023.
In August, the average of Canada’s three measures for core inflation, which are considered better gauges of underlying price pressures and closely tracked by the Bank of Canada, was 1.7 per cent.
Regionally, prices rose the fastest in Prince Edward Island in August, where Statistics Canada said consumers paid more for cigarettes — which registered an annualized increase of 7.8 per cent — after the province instated a special tax in mid-July.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
