Canadian GDP Rises in February Led by Miners

Canada’s gross domestic product rose for a second month in February led by gains for copper and nickel miners, oil producers and manufacturers.

Output rose 0.2 percent to an annualized C$1.61 trillion ($1.47 trillion), Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. The report matched the median forecast in a Bloomberg economist survey of 20 economists.

The data support the Bank of Canada’s estimate of first-quarter economic growth at a 1.5 percent annualized pace. The central bank cited winter storms that disrupted shipments for the sluggish expansion, and output may have been constrained in March by a strike at the port in Vancouver, Canada’s largest. The bank forecast April 16 that growth will accelerate to a 2.5 percent pace beginning in the second quarter, aided by U.S. demand and a weaker Canadian dollar.

Mining and quarrying rose by 4.8 percent in February led by copper and nickel work, Statistics Canada said. Oil and gas extraction rose by 0.7 percent led by natural gas output, while the gain in factory production slowed to 0.6 percent from 1.6 percent in January.

ATCO Structures & Logistics said April 25 it won a “multi-million dollar” contract to operate a 1,470 person camp for K+S Potash Canada GP in Saskatchewan.

The economy’s recovery “hinges critically” on a shift in demand from indebted consumers to exports and business investment, which will be aided by a weaker Canadian dollar and rising U.S. orders, the bank said April 16. The International Monetary Fund said earlier this year that Canada should maintain looser policy because there have been few signs of increased exports and company spending.

via Bloomberg

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