Canadian consumers grow wary as markets flutter

Consumer confidence hit a two-year low in Canada in August as stock markets around the world lurched through weeks of volatile trading. The Conference Board of Canada’s index of consumer confidence dropped 6.6 points to 74.7, driven down by fears over future job growth and a sense that Canadians are putting off major purchases. Consumers in the Prairies remain Canada’s most confident, according to the board. Confidence in the Prairie provinces dropped eight points to 90.5. B.C. Consumers were the only ones to grow more confident in August, climbing 1.1 points to 86.1.

Canadian Press