31 May 2019

In addition to it, Canada also reported a significant 9.5% decrease in exports of farm and fishing products. Crude-oil shipments were down by 2.8%.

At the same time, the overall economic growth was supported by the largest quarterly level of household spending in 2 years, with massive gains in auto purchases and audio-visual equipment.

Business investments in equipment and machinery rose by 8.7%, marking the largest increase in 23 years. The main driver of such a hike was significant investment in aircraft and other transportation equipment.

Based on March numbers, the report predicts a better start of Q2, as March saw a 0.5% gain, while February reported a 0.2% drop.

The real umbers exceeded the central bank’s 0.3% forecast slightly.

Yesterday, Carolyn Wilkins, the Bank of Canada’s senior deputy governor, noted the latest economic slowdown was only temporary. According to her, the growth has already improved in Q2, and the BoC predicts 1.3% growth for it.

Wilkins expects Canada’s economy to keep gaining the pace during the rest of 2019.