Economic indicators & forecasts

Research guide

This research guide is a guide to sources of Canadian, U.S., and international economic indicator and forecast information. It encompasses both print resources available in the Business Information Centre and Internet resources.

Canada

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• Bank of Canada Banking and Financial Statistics

Monthly (Periodicals)

Provides major financial and economic indicators, financial market statistics, including interest rates, and stock market statistics. Weekly financial statistics available from the Bank of Canada at:

• Bank of Montreal Economic Research and Analysis


• Canadian Economic Observer

Print copy (Statistics Canada 11-010) Provides a monthly summary table of key indicators, as well as an overview of GDP, investment, labour market conditions, output, household demand, financial markets, prices, regional economies, and international economies.

• CIBC World Markets Economics Research

(CIBC World Markets)

• Econoscope. (Royal Bank of Canada Economics Department)

Monthly (Periodicals)

Royal Bank forecasts of the economy and financial markets

• The Economy in Brief ( Canada. Department of Finance)

Provides a quarterly overview of Canada’s economic performance.

• RBC Economics Research

(Royal Bank of Canada) “RBC Economics Research provides timely and relevant analysis and forecasts of the economy and financial markets in Canada, the United States and key international markets to RBC and its clients.”

• Statistics Canada – Summary Tables

The Economy collection offers access to the latest indicators in the areas of economic conditions, primary industries, international trade, manufacturing & construction, and finance & services.

Statistics Canada Provincial Economic indicators

• TD Economics ( TD-Bank Financial Group)

Canadian Banks' Economics Departments often offer U.S. and international coverage

United States

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• Economic Indicators (U.S. Congress: Joint Council of Economic Advisors)

Monthly; 1995 –

Provides economic information on prices, wages, production, business activity, purchasing power, credit, money and Federal finance.

• Survey of Professional Forecasters (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)

Quarterly; 1998 –

Provides macroeconomic forecasts in the U.S., including projections on a variety of indicators - GDP, productivity, inflation, and interest rates, etc.

• NBER – National Bureau of Economic Research

Historic (back to mid-18 th century) and current data, including Macro Data, Industry Data, International Trade Data, Individual Data, Hospital Data, Demographic and Vital Statistics, Patent Data and Other Data. Some data dates back to the mid-1800s.

• Economic Research

(Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

Economic research in the areas of money and banking, macroeconomics, and international and regional economics. Includes ‘Alfred’, historical economic data, and GeoFRED™ a “data-mapping tool, which displays color-coded data on the state, MSA, and county levels.

international

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• International Financial Statistics (International Monetary Fund)

(Periodicals)

Monthly, 1990- , with annual yearbook 1980 -

Provides data for IMF member countries, including exchange rates, interest rates, prices, production, labour statistics, and GDP. Also available through UofT EIR

(International Monetary Fund Databases)

• Eurostat Euro Indicators ( European Union)

Provides statistics for the European and Monetary Union (euro-zone) and European Union (EU-15) in various areas including consumer prices, external trade, the labour market, monetary and financial indicators, and national accounts.

• OFFSTATS: Official Statistics on the Web

Provides links to free social, economic, and general data from official sources. International statistics are arranged by country, region, and topic.

• SourceOECD

Provides access to all OECD statistics.

• Frequently Requested Statistics (OECD)

Provides free access to a variety of frequently requested statistics.

• World Economic Outlook Databases 2007 ( International Monetary Fund)

Biannual, 1999-

WEO database is created during the biannual World Economic Outlook (WEO) exercise. Selected series that are available in the WEO publication are now available on this website.