June 26, 2008

Real gross domestic product -the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. -increased at an annual rate of 1% in the first quarter of 2008 (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to final estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 0.6%.
 
The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available for the preliminary estimates issued last month. In the preliminary estimates, the increase in real GDP was 0.9%.
 
The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE) for services, exports of goods and services, and federal government spending that …

Source: Statistics Canada
 
Canadian wholesale sales rose for the second consecutive month in April, largely as a result of increased demand in the personal and household goods and the machinery and electronic equipment sectors.
 
Wholesalers sold $43.4 billion worth of goods and services in April for a gain of 1.4%, following a 0.7% increase in March.

In April, five of the seven wholesale sectors reported higher sales, with the only declines coming from the automotive and farm products sectors.

Despite the back-to-back monthly increases, overall wholesale sales have lost a bit of momentum since the second half of 2007 and are still slightly below the peak attained in March 2007. A significant …