Canada: Economic activity flatlines in July
GDP was flat in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in July, which contrasted June’s 0.2% decrease but was slightly below market expectations. On an annual basis, monthly GDP grew 1.1% in July, which was below June’s 1.2% expansion and marking the worst result since February 2021.
A sharp contraction in manufacturing—partly due to port strikes in British Colombia—weighed on GDP in July. The strikes also dampened transportation activity. In contrast, both mining and quarrying and accommodation and food services grew in July, after wildfires caused output in these sectors to fall in June.
Flash data suggests that the economy expanded 0.1% in August. Over Q3 as a whole, our panelists expect the economy to broadly stagnate relative to Q2.