Canada's Economy Shrank Slightly In October, StatCan Says

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OTTAWA ― Canada’s economy contracted slightly in October, with real gross domestic product down 0.1 per cent from September.

Statistics Canada says that October’s decline in GDP was the first in eight months.

Economists had projected a flat GDP report for October compared with September, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

Statistics Canada says the month included the biggest decline in retail trade since March 2016.

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There were also declines in wholesale trade and manufacturing.

Those declines were only partly offset by an advance in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector as well as transportation and warehousing services.

The shrinking economy was “not a big surprise considering that pretty much all major indicators were down in the month — employment, housing starts, manufacturing, retail, wholesale … you get the idea,” Bank of Montreal (BMO) senior economist Robert Kavcic wrote in a client note.

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BMO is now forecasting 0.8 per cent economic growth in the final quarter of 2019, well below the Bank of Canada’s forecast of 1.3 per cent.

Kavcic sais the slowdown at the end of this year is “likely temporary” and he sees Canada’s economy growing at a 1.8-per-cent pace next year.

― The Canadian Press with a file from HuffPost Canada