Canadian economic activity edged up a surprise 0.1% in July, driven by strong oil sand production, while gross domestic product was most likely flat in August, Statistics Canada data showed on Thursday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast GDP would fall 0.1% in July from June. Statistics Canada said growth in goods-producing industries more than offset the first decline in services-producing industries since January.
Oil sands extraction jumped 5.1% in July on higher output, partially offsetting two months of declines. Canada’s agricultural sector also helped drive economic growth, with crop production up 7.2%, mainly on volumes of wheat and other grains.
