Fortune Bay Announces Option Agreement for the Woods Uranium Projects

However, the agency reported that advance figures for June show a reversal, with its data indicating a 0.1 percent growth during the month, and flat GDP for the second quarter. StatsCan will post its official figures on August 29.

The Bank of Canada held its rate meeting this week, opting to hold its interest rate steady at 2.75 percent, citing resilience in the economy despite the trade dispute with the United States.

The economic news comes against a backdrop of tariff threats from the United States. In July, the White House vowed to increase the tariff rate of non-CUSMA-compliant goods from Canada from the 25 percent imposed earlier in the year to 35 percent if a deal wasn’t negotiated by the August 1 deadline.

On Thursday evening, the night before the deadline, Donald Trump signed an executive order increasing levies on goods entering the US from Canada. While CUSMA-compliant goods are largely exempt, the new tariff rate will have a significant impact on Canada’s auto, steel and softwood lumber industries.

Canada is not alone, as new tariffs rates will be applied on imports from all countries that were part of his original April 2 announcement. Those countries that have successfully negotiated agreements will also pay tariffs, but at a lower rate. However, the US also announced that it won’t begin collecting tariffs on imports until August 7. The delay is intended to allow more time for completing negotiations and for US Customs to adjust to the new policy.

The United States also released a slew of economic news this week, with fresh GDP, inflation and jobs data.

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its second-quarter advance GDP estimate on Wednesday (July 30). While it shows solid growth of 3 percent after a 0.5 decline in the first quarter, analysts suggest it may be masking underlying weakness in the overall economy.

Decreases in Q1 were mainly due to a rise in imports, which are deducted from GDP calculations, as companies stockpiled goods in anticipation of US tariffs taking effect. However, the second quarter’s increase was due to companies reducing imports and working through their pre-tariff stockpiles.

US GDP is up a modest 1.2 percent since the start of the year, well below the 2.5 percent growth rate in 2024.

On Thursday, the US BEA released its personal consumption expenditures index (PCE) data. The report shows that inflation surged to 2.6 percent in June on an annual basis, above analysts’ expectations of a 2.5 percent rise and up from May’s 2.4 percent. Less the volatile food and energy categories, PCE came in at 2.8 percent, matching numbers from the previous month.

How much tariffs played a role in that increase is uncertain, but the PCE is a critical factor for the Federal Reserve’s decision in setting its benchmark Federal Funds Rate.

The central bank board met for its July meeting on Tuesday (July 29) and Wednesday, and ultimately decided to continue to hold the rate at 4.25 to 4.5 percent….