StatCan October GDP flat compared with September

OT TAWA Canada’s economy took a pause in October, with gross domestic product unchanged from the previous month.

Analysts had estimated that Canada’s GDP would grow 0.2 per cent from September, based on some of the recent October economic data released earlier this week by Statistics Canada.

Goods- producing industries were down 0.4 per cent from September figures and service-producing industries were up 0.2 per cent, it said.

CIBC economist Nick Exarhos said “the mood was running high” ahead of Friday’s report, but said strong wholesale and retail trade volumes reported earlier this week didn’t translate into the same degree of value-added growth.

Statistics Canada said the value of wholesale trade was up 1.4 per cent from September, and the value of retail trade was up 1.1 per cent.

“Collectively, they contributed a bit more than one tick to GDP, roughly half of what we would have expected heading into the release,” Exarhos wrote in a note to clients.

Exarhos added that the mining, oil and gas sector was also softer than expected despite reports of strong production.

Statistics Canada said that mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction declined 1.1 per cent.

The agency reported that nine of the 20 industrial sectors that it monitors expanded in October, including manufacturing, which was up 0.1 per cent.

“Except manufacturing, output in all goods-producing industries fell,” noted Arlene Kish, director for Canadian economics at IHS Markit.

Statistics Canada said the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector was down 1.1 per cent.