With the global economy tumbling into recession, Canada has stood out among its peers as being relatively strong. However, the world's eighth largest economy is certainly not immune to the spreading lethargy. A leading gauge for growth speculation, today's Ivey Purchasing Managers Index has put a key Canadian sector on a dire path. Considered one of the nation's best business activity reports, the index's headline reading tumbled a second month to 40.2 - demarking a greater percentage of those mangers surveyed reported business had deteriorated last month. Put into historical context, this reading was the worst seen in the gauge's near 11-year history. The readings from the component guages was just as dour. Nearly two-thirds of participating managers reported a drop in inventories, there was a pullback in teh deliveries reading and the prices component plunged 27 points to its lowest reading on record. The most interesting piece of data from the event was the employment gauge which hit a record 40.2-low of its own. Its real influence will be as a tool to help guide expectations for tomorrow's labour report. With a precedence like this, the 25,000 net drop in national payrolls may prove too modest.
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