Canada Recession May Recover in Late 2009: Poll

(Reuters – Ka Yan Ng)

The Canadian economy is expected to worsen in the first half of 2009 but may start seeing tentative signs of recovery as early as the third quarter, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

Economists were more pessimistic in their outlook for the economy through 2009 and into 2010, compared with the previous quarterly survey in January, slashing forecasts for gross domestic product, the unemployment rate, housing starts, and the Bank of Canada's lending rate.

The survey of over 20 economists, conducted in the days after the end of the first quarter, forecast the economy will shrink by an annualized 2.5% this year – more than twice the 1.1% contraction predicted in the January poll. Read the complete article here.