OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s economy expanded for a ninth consecutive month in January and most likely grew in February, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday, further evidence that a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic was stronger than expected.
Despite the 0.7% gain in January, overall economic activity that month was still 3% lower than it had been in February 2020, before the pandemic started.
January growth jumped on wholesale trade, manufacturing and oil and gas extraction. Retail trade dipped but should recover in February, when restrictions on businesses were lifted, contributing to a likely 0.5% monthly increase, Statscan said.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted that gross domestic product would grow 0.5% from December.
“The resiliency of the economy suggests that first quarter growth will look hotter than our last published forecast,” said Royce Mendes, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets. The firm is now predicting annualized growth in the quarter of 5%, up from 3%.
The Canadian dollar strengthened to 1.2595 against the U.S. dollar, or 0.7940 U.S. cents, after the data release.
The Bank of Canada, which forecast in January that the economy would shrink in the first quarter on an annualized basis, now says it expects positive growth. It is due to release updated forecasts on April 21.
Stephen Brown, senior Canadian economist at Capital Economics, said first-quarter annualized growth could be close to 5% and predicted it would prompt the Bank of Canada to cut the pace of its asset purchases.
The central bank said last week it was looking at how it could adjust its quantitative easing (QE) program. It is currently buying C$4 billion of bonds per week to support the economy.
In another sign of strength, Canadian producer prices grew 2.6% in February on higher prices for energy and petroleum products, the largest monthly increase since January 1980.
(Additional reporting by Dale Smith in Ottawa and Fergal Smith in Toronto; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Bernadette Baum)
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
