The national statistics office reported on Thursday that the GDP of Canada expanded at an annualized pace of 1.0 percent in the last three months of 2023, reversing a decline from the previous quarter.
According to a statement from Statistics Canada, exports increased by 1.4 percent, led by oil, while imports decreased by 0.4 percent as a result of less shipments of vehicles and components.
The last seven quarters have seen a sixth decline in business investment.
Following a 0.5 percent contraction that was cut down from 1.1 percent in the most recent statistics release, the Canadian economy expanded more than anticipated.
The Bank of Canada has forecast modest economic growth in 2024.
The central bank has been widely expected to cut interest rates as early as June after having hiked rates aggressively over the past year and a half in an effort to tame inflation.
Inflation dropped in January to 2.9 percent, within the bank’s target of range of 1 to 3 percent.
According to Statistics Canada, household expenditure increased by 0.2 percent in the final three months of 2023, but the growth in employee remuneration, which had recently peaked, fell to levels seen in 2020.
Household spending fell to 1.7 percent for the entire year 2023 from 5.1 percent in 2022.
In the fourth quarter, home investment decreased by 0.4 percent during the housing crisis. In the previous seven quarters, this was the sixth decline.
The resale market in Canada declined despite a rise in new building and renovations, partly due to the federal government’s recent hundreds of millions of dollars invested in affordable housing.
