Photo Credit: Randy Dawe & Reardon Construction
New luxury condominiums and commercial business development in the heart of St. John’s.

World economic growth is expected to be 3.0% in 1999 and 3.5% next year. This represents a significant improvement from last year when the Asian economic crisis led several countries into severe contractions and caused world growth to slow to 2.5%. In particular, the Japanese economy is showing recovery from a severe recession in 1998. The United States continues to grow at a strong pace and this, together with a low Canadian dollar, has spurred exports from Canada.

Rising commodity prices have also benefitted the Canadian economy. The prices of many commodities have recovered from the low levels recorded in the wake of the Asian economic crisis. In particular, several commodities of interest to Newfoundland and Labrador such as oil, nickel, and crab have increased sharply. On the other hand, iron ore and newsprint prices are below last year’s levels.

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The Canadian economy is expected to grow by 3.6% in 1999. Rising exports and capital spending underlie most of this growth. The Ontario economy is showing particular strength due to its close trade linkages with the booming US economy. However, among the provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador is the front-runner in expected real GDP growth (for the second year running). It is also leading on the basis of year-over-year growth in several other key economic indicators: capital investment intentions, wholesale trade, average weekly earnings, labour force, and employment.