Canadian real GDP contracted by 0.3 per cent in October after increasing by 0.2 per cent in September. Goods-producing sectors fell by 0.7 per cent, while service-producing industries decreased by 0.2 per cent. Detractors from growth were led by manufacturing (-1.5 per cent), transportation and warehousing (-1.1 per cent), and wholesale trade (-0.9 per cent). Conversely, finance and insurance was one of the few drivers of growth (0.4 per cent), as all goods-producing industries either remained flat or contracted from September. Output for the offices of real-estate agents and brokers rose by 0.9 per cent month-over-month. Preliminary estimates suggest that real GDP by industry increased by 0.1 per cent in November.
The Canadian economy gave back all the growth found in September, with October’s data painting a bleak picture for the final quarter of the year. Following its recent rate-hold, the Bank of Canada will closely follow November and December’s GDP data to assess Canada’s economic performance relative to its updated projection for the fourth quarter, as it continues signalling neutrality concerning future rate adjustments.
