Pace of economic growth likely slowed through 1st quarter of 2024: StatCan
Global News
Signs of a slowing Canadian economy puts more pressure on the Bank of Canada to pivot to interest rate cuts, according to some economists.
The pace of growth in the Canadian economy was likely slowing down through the first quarter of the year, according to early estimates Statistics Canada.
The agency estimates real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.6 per cent in the quarter, or 2.5 per cent on an annualized basis.
Meanwhile, February saw GDP growth slow to 0.2 per cent, coming in below StatCan’s initial estimates for a pace of 0.4 per cent. January’s pace of real GDP growth was revised lower as well to 0.5 per cent, a tick down from 0.6 per cent initially.
The entirety of the growth in February came from services-producing sectors, while goods-producing industries were essentially unchanged, the agency said.
The warehousing and transportation sectors saw “broad-based” gains in the month, led by a rebound in rail travel following a cold snap in Western Canada in January.
Air transportation saw its seventh monthly increase in February, with a 4.8 per cent growth rate marking the largest monthly increase for the sector since May 2022. Some air carriers were increasing flight capacity to Asia ahead of the Lunar New Year in February, StatCan said.
The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries expanded for the fourth time in five months, while the utilities and manufacturing sectors contracted.