FILE PHOTO: A truck moves past stacked shipping containers at the Port of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi
February 1, 2022
OTTAWA (Reuters) -The Canadian economy most likely outperformed in the fourth quarter, official data suggested on Tuesday, with economic activity climbing above pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
The economy grew 0.6% in November, beating analyst expectations for a gain of 0.3%, but was most likely unchanged in December, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. It said annualized gross domestic product in the fourth quarter was likely up 6.3%, beating the Bank of Canada’s forecast of 5.8%.
The central bank held its key interest rate unchanged last week, but said hikes were coming as Canada’s economy no longer needed extraordinary support to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The December and fourth-quarter GDP numbers are preliminary estimates, with official data coming next month. With December’s estimate, economic activity is now 0.2% above the level in February 2020.
Canada’s goods-producing sector expanded 0.5% in November, while the service-producing sector grew 0.6%.
The Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% higher at 1.2689 to the greenback, or 78.81 U.S. cents. Money markets are pricing in a first Canadian rate hike in March, with six increases this year. [BOCWATCH]
(Reporting by Julie Gordon and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Paul Simao)
Source: One America News Network
