Canada's manufacturing and forestry sectors may already be in recession and the U.S. slowdown and spike in the Canadian dollar are beginning to have a greater impact on the broader economy, with the mining and wholesale trades contributing to weaker economic growth in November, new figures show.
Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 0.1% in November from 0.2% in October, resulting in an annualized growth rate of 2.7%, Statistics Canada figures showed yesterday. The pace of growth is not expected to pick up anytime soon, with the Bank of Canada predicting growth of 1.8% in 2008.
"It's clear that Canada's economy is not immune to the weakness south of the border and the strong Canadian dollar," Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said.
The agricultural and forestry industry took the biggest hit in November, declining 0.4% for an annualized contraction of 3.8%.
"There's really no sign of a recovery in forestry products," Mr. Guatieri said, adding growth in one of that industry's main markets, the housing sector, was also slowing.
Mining growth fell 0.4% in the month and was down 0.7% on the year. Manufacturing activity declined by 0.3% in November, but remained slightly higher over the year at 0.2%. While wholesale trade fell 0.1%, but maintained a healthy annualized growth rate of 8.8%.
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Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 0.1% in November from 0.2% in October, resulting in an annualized growth rate of 2.7%, Statistics Canada figures showed yesterday. The pace of growth is not expected to pick up anytime soon, with the Bank of Canada predicting growth of 1.8% in 2008.
"It's clear that Canada's economy is not immune to the weakness south of the border and the strong Canadian dollar," Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said.
The agricultural and forestry industry took the biggest hit in November, declining 0.4% for an annualized contraction of 3.8%.
"There's really no sign of a recovery in forestry products," Mr. Guatieri said, adding growth in one of that industry's main markets, the housing sector, was also slowing.
Mining growth fell 0.4% in the month and was down 0.7% on the year. Manufacturing activity declined by 0.3% in November, but remained slightly higher over the year at 0.2%. While wholesale trade fell 0.1%, but maintained a healthy annualized growth rate of 8.8%.
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