"I strongly believe that the continued expansion of our service sector is pointing the way toward full economic recovery and the return of sustained, natural growth".
- Stephen Poloz, Bank of Canada Governor
Canada posted its strongest economic growth in more than 2 years in the third quarter, since a rebound in energy exports helped the economy to rebound strongly from a deep second-quarter contraction, which saw the economy recoil by a revised 1.3%. Meanwhile, the healthy rebound followed a second-quarter decline largely caused by oil-production shutdowns caused by Alberta wildfires and scheduled maintenance at oil sands facilities Real gross domestic product advanced 0.9% in the third quarter, following a 0.3% decline in the second quarter. Growth in final domestic demand slipped to 0.2%.In the meantime, exports rose 2.2%, making up some ground lost in the second quarter (-3.9%). Growth was driven by a 6.1% increase in the energy sector, following a 5.1% drop in the second quarter as a result of the Fort McMurray wildfires. Exports of goods jumped 2.3%, while services advanced 1.%.
The GDP reading was released ahead of the Bank of Canada's scheduled announcement next week on its trend-setting interest rate, which is widely expected to stay at 0.5%.
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