Over the week ahead, investors will continue to monitor developments in the Middle East. As of last Friday, the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, which is disrupting the global supply of oil. Here in Canada, it will be a relatively light week for scheduled economic announcements, but some critical measures of sales will be released near the end of the week. South of the border, there will be several critical economic announcements that will be closely watched to see how geopolitical tensions are impacting consumer prices and the US economy.

• Canadian wholesale sales and manufacturing sales for March will be announced on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Initial estimates for both sales measures show a sharp increase in March.
• The US inflation rate for April will be released tomorrow. The annual inflation rate accelerated markedly to 3.3% in March, largely in response to surging oil prices amid the conflict in the Middle East.
• US producer prices will be announced on Wednesday and retail sales on Thursday. No doubt, the US Federal Reserve Board will closely monitor the results ahead of its next interest-rate decision in June.
• Looking around the world, a second reading of European economic growth will be released on Wednesday, UK economic growth on Thursday and Japan’s producer prices on Thursday night.
• Notable earnings in Canada include Cineplex, Barrick Mining, Franco-Nevada, Algoma Steel, Birchcliff Energy, Manulife and Brookfield. Key earnings in the US include Constellation Energy and Cisco Systems.

There are several critical economic announcements from around the globe that will give investors insight into how the conflict in the Middle East is impacting economic activity, consumer prices and confidence levels. Despite so much uncertainty, Canadian equity markets have risen in 2026. Canadian equities have always experienced periods of volatility, but they have continually demonstrated their resiliency and have grown over time.

If you would like to discuss this economic and market update or have questions about your finances and investments, please feel free to contact me anytime.