Statistics
Canada announced on Tuesday that the Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) grew
0.2 per cent m-o-m in February, following
a downwardly revised 0.5 per cent m-o-m surge (from +0.6 per cent m-o-m) in the previous month.
Economists had expected
a 0.3 per cent m-o-m increase in February.
In y-o-y terms,
the Canadian GDP expanded 0.8 per cent in February.
According to
the report, the services-producing businesses demonstrated a 0.2 per cent
m-o-m advance in February, while goods-producing industries showed a flat m-o-m
performance.
Overall, 12 of the 20
industrial sectors increased in February, led by mining, quarrying, and oil and
gas extraction (+2.5 per cent m-o-m), utilities (+3.2 per cent m-o-m), transportation
and warehousing (+1.4 per cent m-o-m), agriculture, forestry, fishing and
hunting (+0.5 per cent m-o-m), and accommodation and food services (+0.5 per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile, management
of companies and enterprises (-4.4 per cent m-o-m) and utilities (-2.6 per cent m-o-m) posted the biggest declines.
It was also
reported that preliminary data indicates that real GDP was essentially unchanged m-o-m in March, as gains in
utilities, real estate and rental and leasing were offset by decreases in
manufacturing and retail trade.
These flash estimates also point to a 0.6 per
cent increase in GDP in the first quarter
of 2024.