Canadian consumer confidence remains weak

 

Ongoing talk of trade wars and tariffs is dampening sentiment among Canadian consumers.

The weekly Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index has declined again in the latest reading (54.31) and although the pace of decline slowed, the index is at a 12-month low.

Just four week’s ago the index was at 55.28 and it started the year on 61.91.

Sub-indexes diverged with the one tracking job security and personal finances was higher (60.54 vs 59.69 four weeks ago) while expectation for the economy and real estate prices was down (48.08 vs 50.88 4 weeks ago).

“The proportion of Canadians who think the Canadian economy will get stronger has hit a low not seen since 2015,” said Nanos Research, Chief Data Scientist, Nik Nanos. “The fact that Canadians are almost four times more likely to believe the Canadian economy will get weaker than stronger in the next six months speaks to a noticeable level of economic anxiety.”

Overall confidence was unchanged among homeowners while renters were generally more confident.