A November cold snap caused utility use to jump, the agency says.
OTTAWA — The Canadian economy grew by a surprise 0.1 per cent in November, driven by a boost in utility use because of an unexpected cold snap in central Canada, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast no change after an unexpected 0.1 per cent decline in October. Goods-producing industries and the services sectors both posted a 0.1 per cent gain. Increases were reported in 15 of the 20 industrial sectors tracked by StatCan.
The Canadian dollar slightly pared its decline, touching 1.3227 to the U.S. dollar, or 75.60 U.S. cents, after the GDP gain.
“The above-consensus reading was surprising given the temporary factors which were expected to restrain growth — pipeline outage, rail strike, weather — and should limit the downside risk to the Bank of Canada’s Q4 forecast,” said Royce Mendes, a senior economist at CIBC Capital...
