Economic growth in January slowed to 0.1 per cent, StatsCan says
Canadian Plastics
Economy COVID-19Reduced trade with China affected potential growth in January, the agency said, and the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse in oil prices has hurt the economy since then.
Statistics Canada says economic growth slowed in January, as manufacturing and the financial sector grew while transportation, mining, oil and gas, and the retail sector all shrank.
The agency says real gross domestic product grew 0.1 per cent in the first month of 2020 compared with an advance of 0.3 per cent in December.
Statistics Canada says reduced trade with China and advisories against non-essential travel to the country affected potential growth in January. Since then, the agency says, the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse in oil prices has significantly affected the economy.
Manufacturing grew by 0.8 per cent during the month, while construction activity picked up by 0.2 per cent from December’s level. Wholesale trade grew by 1.2 per cent while the financial sector expanded by 0.9 per cent.
On the downside, the mining and oil and gas sector shrank by 0.6 per cent, while the retail sector was down by 0.4 per cent. The transportation sector shrank most of all, by 1.7 per cent, largely because of winter storms wreaking havoc with travel plans.
