Most economists expect Ivey PMI to come in at a reading of 54.0, down from March's reading of 59.

Max Clarke, chief economist for Canada at IDEAGlobal, is one of the lone economists looking for an increase for Ivey with his prediction of an uptick to 60.

"It's not that I am overly optimistic, but more often than not this data has surprised on the upside. Looking at a number of factors, we are expecting the data to improve slightly," he said. "In general, the economy isn't strong but it isn't as weak as people expect."

Ryan Brecht, from Action Economics, agrees with the consensus and said it will tick lower because of seasonal trends.

"The decline in the Ivey that we project would be consistent with the usual seasonal trend and leave the index in still expansionary territory," he said.

In other Canadian data, economists forecast building permits to rise 1.2% following a decline of 1.0% in February.

In the U.S., Kansas City Fed president Thomas Hoenig will be in Denver to speak about market risk and monetary policy.

All times in EDT.

Tuesday

7:45 ICSC Chain Store Sales Prior: +1.9%

8:30 CA Building Permits (Monthly) March Exp: +1.2% Prior: -1.0%

8:55: Redbook Retail Sales Prior: +1.3%

10:00 CA Ivey Purchasing Managers Index April Exp: 54.0 Prior: 59.0

10:00 US Results of U.S. TAF Auction

13:00 US Treasury to Sell $24B 4-Week Bills

14:00 CA Auditor General May 2008 Report

17:00 US ABC Consumer Confidence 4-May Prior: -41

21:30 US Fed's Hoenig speaks in Denver on Market Risk and Policy

6-May US DOE Short-Term Crude Outlook May Prior: +93K

6-May US DOE Short-Term Diesel Outlook May Prior: +3.39K

6-May US DOE Short-Term Ht Oil Outlook May Prior: +3.30K

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