Due to the more cautious first quarter view, reports on retail sales, employment and gross domestic product have all beaten consensus forecasts. Canada’s core inflation rate is also hovering above the central bank’s 2% target.
“Outside of the energy sector, other areas of the economy appear to be doing well,” Poloz said. “The segments of non-energy exports that we expected to lead the recovery are doing so, and we expect this trend to be buttressed by stronger U.S. growth and the lower Canadian dollar.”
The CurrencyShares Canadian Dollar Trust (NYSEArca: FXC), which tracks the Canadian dollar’s movement against the U.S. dollar, is down 3.9% year-to-date but is up 4.2% over the past month. The recent strength in the Canadian dollar may have also bolstered gains in CAD-denominated investments, such as the non-hedged Canada ETFs.
iShares MSCI Canada ETF
For more information on Canada, visit our Canada category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.