Economic growth dipped into negative territory in September, driven lower by a significant decline in energy sector and manufacturing activity.
The decline in economic activity in September was the result of a substantial drop in industrial output across the country. Declining oil sands activity drove energy sector GDP down 15.3 per cent compared to August (on an annualized basis). Meanwhile, construction GDP was down by 7.2 per cent, and manufacturing value-added output dropped by 6.3 per cent.
While there are some worrying signs emerging in the Canadian economy, residual strength from earlier in the year kept third quarter results in reasonably positive territory.
Beginning with the monthly numbers, GDP fell by 0.07 per cent in September – equivalent to an annualized decline of about 0.9 per cent. That represents the first month-over-month drop in GDP since January and is part of an emerging trend of slower economic growth across the country; the Canadian economy has only posted one solid month of growth since May.
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(CPCA Economic Update)
