Reaching out for a clearer view of the economy [Video]

We’re gathering more information

Traditional data on inflation, jobs and housing are key to our decisions about whether to lower, raise or maintain our policy interest rate. But they often just give the big picture. And they show what has already happened, weeks later.

Non-traditional data can help us see what’s happening under the surface—and in a timelier way. That’s especially helpful in uncertain and rapidly changing situations.

• At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we used data on restaurant reservations, flight bookings and credit card transactions to see how consumer spending patterns were shifting in real time.
• Today, to gauge the early impact of tariffs, we’re looking at changes in the number of trucks crossing the Canada-US border …