OTTAWA: Canada’s GDP unexpectedly slumped in August, according to the latest report from Statistics Canada. Canada’s GDP fell by 0.1% month-over-month in August following the prior month’s flat reading of 0.0%. Economists were expecting GDP to tick up by 0.1%. Statistics Canada said that declines in manufacturing and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction “more than offset” the increases in other sectors. Goods-producing industries shrank by 0.7%, while services-producing sectors ticked up by 0.1%.
Last week, the Bank of Canada held rates at 1.00%. The bank said the global and Canadian economies are progressing as outlined earlier this year, but cautioned that its outlook remains “subject to substantial uncertainty about geopolitical developments and fiscal trade policies” – including the on-going NAFTA re-negotiations. The Canadian dollar dropped after the report. It was down by 0.5% at 1.2894 per US dollar at 8:31 a.m. ET.
