Canada GDP in April Climbs 0.2%

Canadian economic output expanded in April for a sixth straight monthly gain, with the majority of industrial components registering advances. On a one-year basis, the economy rose at its fastest pace in nearly three years, or before the oil-price shock, setting the stage for a possible Bank of Canada rate increase next month.

Canada's gross domestic product, or the broadest measure of goods and services produced in an economy, rose 0.2% in April from the previous month, to 1.72 trillion Canadian dollars ($1.32 trillion), Statistics Canada said Friday. This represented a slowdown from the 0.5% increase recorded in March, but the April result was in line with market expectations, according to economists at Royal Bank of Canada.

On a year-over-year basis, GDP rose 3.3% in April, or the biggest such gain since June, 2014.

The services sector, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of output, did the heavy lifting in April, led by wholesale and retail trade. A strong gain in the commodity sector was offset by a decline in manufacturing.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 30, 2017 08:45 ET (12:45 GMT)