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Governor Stephen Poloz and his policy council have held their key lending level at 0.5 per cent since July of last year, after two rate cuts in the wake of the oil-price collapse. The U.S. Federal Reserve began raising its borrowing costs in December, to a range of 0.25 to 0.5 per cent following seven years at near zero — but now appears to be slowing its planned pace of hikes.

And while Canadian factories benefitted from a weak dollar, U.S. manufacturers have come under pressure due to their strong currency.

On Monday, the closely-watched ISM manufacturing index in the U.S. showed factory activity increased in April — but at a slower pace, as both new orders and production declined.

“There are still signs that the (U.S.) manufacturing sector is struggling,” said Emanuella Enenajor, senior economist at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in New York.

“To see softness in a number of sectors — including the consumer, including business capital equipment demand — it’s a sign that the economy is still facing some headwind.”

In this country, factory output also grew during in April, but with the speed of new orders and employment accelerating. RBC said its Purchasing Managers’ Index, released Monday, reading grew in April at “the fastest pace since December 2014 that coincided with the initial downturn in crude oil prices.”

The slowdown is reflected in the overall U.S. economy, which edged up by an annualized rate of 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year. That followed fourth-quarter growth of 1.4 per cent.