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Canadian economy steady in April as real GDP remains unchanged, StatCan reports

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the Canadian economy remained essentially unchanged in April, following a slight uptick in March.

The federal agency’s advance estimate suggests real gross domestic product grew 0.4 per cent in May, led by the manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors.

The April figure came in lower than expected by Statistics Canada as services-producing industries were unchanged while goods-producing industries edged up 0.1 per cent.

The Canadian economy is largely expected to stall in the latter half of this year and even potentially enter a downturn as high interest rates weigh on consumers and businesses.

Still, some sectors have continued to post growth, with Statistics Canada reporting mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction grew 1.2 per cent in April as all subsectors were up — the fourth consecutive month of growth in the sector.

Yet wholesale trade contracted for the third consecutive month in April, falling 1.4 per cent as activity declined in six of nine subsectors.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2021