Canada economy grows slightly

The economy of Canada grew by 0.2 percent in February, as expected, moving past December’s weather-induced decline but growing only at a modest pace, Statistics Canada (Statscan) reported Wednesday. Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.5 percent in January but declined 0.4 percent in December. The February gains were led by mining and oil and natural gas. Mining and quarrying rose 4.8 percent, particularly because of copper and nickel, and oil and natural-gas extraction rose by 0.7 percent, mainly due to higher gas production. The agriculture and forestry sector declined 1.5 percent, largely because of expected lower crop production following last year’s record harvest. Manufacturing rose 0.6 percent, goods production increased 0.5 percent, and services rose 0.1 percent. In a separate report Wednesday, Statscan said Canada’s industrial product prices rose 0.4 percent in March, partly because a lower Canadian currency raises the price of Canadian goods priced in U.S. dollars Excluding the effect of exchange rates, industrial prices rose 0.2 percent last month, mainly due to higher prices for meat, fish, and dairy products. Raw-materials prices rose 0.6 percent in March after jumping 5.7 percent the previous month.