The Ivey Business School Purchasing Managers Index (PMI),
measuring Canada’s economic activity, edged up 0.2 point to 56.5 in January 2024
from an unrevised 56.3 in December 2023. The latest print pointed
to an expansion in the private sector’s activity for the sixth straight month and
also represented the highest reading since April 2023 (56.8).
A reading above 50 signals expansion, while a reading below
50 indicates contraction.
Economists had expected
the indicator to drop to 55.0 in January.
According to the report, the inventories index rose
by 1.2 points to 50.3, returning into the expansion territory
after a one-month decline. Meanwhile, the deliveries gauge plunged by 6.0 points
to 51.8 but remained in positive
territory, indicating an increase in deliveries for the third month in a row. The
employment measure slipped by 0.7 points to 57.2, indicating
continuing growth in employment, albeit at a slightly softer pace than in the
previous month. The prices indicator fell by 2.3
points to 62.2, indicating the prices continued to increase in January.