Could rate hikes be ‘over and done?’ What economists say as economy stalls
globalnews.caStatistics Canada said Friday.The economy contracted 0.2 per cent annually in the quarter, the agency said, which was enough for some economists to believe the Bank of Canada would keep its key interest rate on hold at its next decision Sept. 6.StatCan also revised down its earlier GDP figures for the first quarter to 2.6 per cent growth, down from 3.1 per cent.The pullback in the second quarter came as housing investment fell 2.1 per cent to post its fifth consecutive quarterly decrease.New construction dropped 8.2 per cent in the quarter, while renovation spending also fell 4.3 per cent.While Canadians spent more overall in the quarter, StatCan noted that on a per-capita basis, spending was down 0.7 per cent in Q2.An early estimate by the agency had estimated Q2 growth at an annualized rate of one per cent.
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