Energy exports helped GDP bounce back in Q3 2016
by The Canadian Press
The report says exports of energy products expanded by 6.1 per cent in the third quarter, following a decline of 5.1 per cent during the previous quarterly period
OTTAWA—The Canadian economy slightly exceeded expectations in the third quarter as it grew at an annual pace of 3.5 per cent.
Statistics Canada says strong numbers for energy exports helped the country’s real gross domestic product bounce back from a second-quarter contraction.
The growth marked a healthy rebound from a second quarter that saw the economy recoil by a revised 1.3 per cent—a decline largely due to wildfires that shut down portions of Alberta’s oil country last spring.
The report says exports of energy products expanded by 6.1 per cent in the third quarter, following a decline of 5.1 per cent during the previous quarterly period.
In the final month of the quarter, September, the economy expanded at a non-annualized rate of 0.3 per cent—a number that followed growth of 0.2 per cent in August and 0.5 per cent in July.
A consensus of economists had been expecting the numbers to show that the economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.4 per cent in the third quarter, according to Thomson Reuters.
In its October monetary policy report, the Bank of Canada predicted 3.2 per cent growth for the third quarter and 1.5 per cent for the final three-month period of 2016.
