The unadjusted Ivey PMI fell 4.0 points in September to 51.8, the lowest reading since July and down 12.8 points year-on-year. Seasonally adjusted, the PMI fell further into contraction by 0.5 points to 48.2, the weakest level since June 2015. Among the survey’s other measures of economic activity, employment fell 2.4 points on a seasonally adjusted basis to 47.2, the lowest level in at least two years. Meanwhile inventories also fell into contraction and the weakest level in more than two years at 45.6, down 4.9 points from September, while supplier deliveries rose 0.3 points higher to 50.2 and prices edged by a tenth to 57.0.
Oil prices slipped on Wednesday after a much larger build in U.S. crude inventories than expected and weak euro zone economic figures that weighed on demand sentiment, reversing gains from the previous three sessions. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said euro zone economic growth was set to slow more than expected as the bloc’s manufacturing crisis could spill over to the larger services sector under global trade tensions.
The Canadian dollar is a bit weaker to the USD but its still within its range of the past two weeks, expect it to stay at these levels.