The Ivey
Business School Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), measuring Canada’s economic
activity, jumped by 4.9 points to 48.2 in September from an unrevised 48.2 in August. The latest print indicated the private sector returned to growth
territory after a one-month contraction.
The 50-point mark separates expansion from contraction.
Economists had predicted
the indicator to increase to 50.2 in September.
According to the report, the deliveries gauge rose
by 2.2 points to 47.7, indicating shrinkage
in deliveries for the sixth straight month. Meanwhile, the employment index declined by 3.1 points to 51.6,
indicating a continuing increase in employment albeit at a softer pace than in
the previous month. The
inventories measure slipped by 0.3 point to 53.3, indicating inventories grew for the fourth consecutive month
in September albeit at a slightly weaker
pace than in the previous month. On the price front, the
prices indicator plunged by 5.4 points to 58.2, indicating prices continued to increase
last month, but the pace of growth was the weakest since March (57.9).