British Columbia "limped into 2013" with lukewarm economic activity and weak capital spending intentions – but the picture is improving, according to the latest RBC Economics Provincial Outlook, released this morning.
These factors, the report states, led RBC to trim B.C.'s real GDP growth outlook from 2.3% to 1.6% in 2013.
"While it was a slow start to the year, we expect that the relatively soft economic picture in British Columbia will be short-lived," said RBC senior vice-president and chief economist Craig Wright. "In fact, we are already seeing signs that housing resales are stabilizing and new motor vehicle sales are improving, and that employment regained its footing in February.
"We are particularly encouraged by the sustained recovery in U.S. home building and its implications for B.C. lumber as provincial exporters will reap the benefits of increasing demand from south of the border."
The findings of the report show that:
employment in B.C. dropped between October 2012 and January 2013;
retail sales and manufacturing shipments stagnated in Q4 2012;
home resales continued to drop; and
housing starts weakened while residential construction remained flat.
