Compiled by Glen Hallick, MarketsFarm
WINNIPEG, Dec. 7 (MarketsFarm) – The following is a glance at the news moving markets in Canada and globally.
- The Bank of Canada (BoC) is scheduled to make its latest interest rate announcement at 9 am CST on Wednesday. Analysts have been split over the amount of the central bank’s increase, either 25 or 50 basis points, bringing the key rate to four or 4.25 per cent. The BoC has been using higher interest rates to quell inflation, which has eased from a high of 8.1 per cent to now 6.9 per cent. There have been indications the BoC will ease up on further rate hikes.
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- China reported on Wednesday that its imports shrunk 10.6 per cent year-over-year, while the country’s exports retreated 8.7 per cent. Those declines have further exacerbated China’s weakening economy, fueled by its strict zero-COVID policies. Economic growth for the world’s second largest economy was slashed from 5.5 per cent to three per cent in 2023.
- United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday he wants to double the country’s gas imports from the United States. The measure would be to counter the U.K.’s lost Russian gas imports that induced skyrocketing energy costs. Currently, the U.K. is set to import up to 10 billion cubic metres over the next year.
- Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock retained his Georgia U.S. Senate seat Tuesday evening, defeating Republican challenger Herschel Walker. In the runoff, Warnock received 51.4 per cent of the votes cast to 48.6 per cent for Walker. That now gives the Democrats a slim 51 to 49-seat majority in the Senate. Also, pundits have suggested the former football star’s loss is a further blow to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, while Warnock’s win is seen as boost to President Joe Biden’s re-election plans.
