Economic data points today suggest again that financial asset prices are well ahead of the economic recovery. In Canada, as the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread throughout the economy, wholesale sales plummeted an unprecedented 21.6% to $49.8 billion in April, the lowest level since July 2013. In the US, weekly jobless claims came in at 1.5 million, notably worse than expected. At the same time, there are continuing reports of the reemergence of the virus in Asia and a rise in the US sun belt. The result on the markets is unsurprising with equities looking to open materially lower this morning. The currency markets are mixed with the US dollar generally stronger, including against the Canadian dollar by about 0.1%.
