MNI: 5 Things We Learned From Canadian GDP Data>

     OTTAWA (MNI) - The following are the key points from the September 

and third quarter data on the Canadian GDP released Friday by Statistics 

Canada: 

     - Annualized real GDP growth slowed to 1.7% (1.706% unrounded) in 

the third quarter, as expected, following a 4.3% surge in the second 

quarter (revised down from 4.5%). 

     - GDP rose 0.2% in September, more than the 0.1% increase expected 

by analysts, led by goods-producing industries (+0.4%). Services output 

rose 0.1%. GDP excluding energy was up 0.1% on the month. 

     - The quarterly real GDP growth slowdown was expected by the Bank 

of Canada, and mostly due to weaker exports, which fell 2.7% during the 

quarter, and residential structures, which were down 0.4%, consistent 

with a weaker housing resale market. 

     - Residential structures trimmed annualized GDP growth by 0.1 point 

and exports by 3.4 points. The decline in housing investment was the 

second in a row (-0.9% in the second quarter), marking the first time 

the sector posted two consecutive quarterly declines since the first 

quarter 2013. 

     - Household final consumption growth slowed to 1.0% in the third 

quarter but remained the largest positive contributor. It added 2.2 

points to annualized GDP growth. Inventory accumulation added 1.1 point. 

Businesses added C$17.2 billion to inventories, the largest accumulation 

since the first quarter 2014. 

--MNI Ottawa Bureau; email: yali.ndiaye@marketnews.com 

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