Gross domestic product stalled after seven straight monthly increases
A new report from Statistics Canada concluded that in April, Canada’s economy slowed after seven straight monthly increases. Retail fell 1.7 per cent in April almost nullifying March’s 1.9 percent increase. For the
first time since August 2009, manufacturing fell 0.3 percent. And production of non-durable goods fell 1.2 per cent on pharmaceuticals, printing and food. Other indicators of economic stagnation included slow inflation and unemployment growth. The declining retails were offset by an increase in mining, oil and gas extraction. “We’ve had a pretty strong run of growth and April will be one of those payback months,” said Michael Gregory, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, to Bloomberg. “It will get everyone a little bit more worried about the near term prospects.”