By Promit Mukherjee
OTTAWA, June 30 (Reuters) – Canada’s economy rebounded more than expected in April, data showed on Tuesday, following a slight contraction in the previous month, allaying concerns that a tariff-led slowdown was getting more entrenched.
The Gross Domestic Product in April grew by 0.5% on a month on month basis, Statistics Canada said, adding the growth was the largest monthly expansion in nine months.
* Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated the GDP in April to grow by 0.4% on a monthly basis, after the GDP contracted by 0.1% in March.
* Canada’s economy had entered a technical recession at the end of the fourth quarter but the Bank of Canada and most economists had dismissed it as a one-off.
* Canada’s economy has faced a range of tariffs from the United States administration since last year on some crucial sectors but its impact has largely stayed contained within the affected sectors.
* The uncertainty from tariffs and the fate of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade deal which is up for a review on Wednesday has held back investments and job growth.
* StatsCan said that 14 of the 20 industrial sectors grew in
April.
* The goods-producing sector, which contributes up to a quarter of the economy, posted a growth of 1.2%, StatsCan said, adding that mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector rose 2.9% in April, its largest monthly growth rate in more than two years.
* The construction sector registered a growth of 0.7%, its first growth in five months, while the manufacturing sector posted a growth of 0.6%.
* Services-producing industries, which accounts for three-quarters of the GDP with sectors such as real estate, transportation, wholesale trade among others, grew by 0.3% in April, date showed.
* Transportation and warehousing rose 0.9% in April, up for the second time in three months.
* An advance estimate for May showed that the economy is likely to grow by 0.1% on a monthly basis, the statistics agency said.
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Dale Smith)