The Bank of Canada says consumers were less pessimistic about their finances as summer wound down but are still not upbeat about the situation.
The central bank’s survey of consumer sentiment found fewer Canadians expected their finances to worsen over the next year.
It attributed the improvement to lower inflation and recent cuts in the bank’s policy interest rate.
However, even as consumers are becoming more optimistic, the bank says they have reduced their spending because they expect interest rates to remain elevated.
An accompanying survey of businesses found companies in the country also had a subdued outlook from July to September.
They reported muted inflationary pressures as demand weakened, firms had excess capacity and price growth slowed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press