Canadian May monthly GDP data

  • Best month since last May

  • April GDP was +0.1% m/m

  • GDP +2.6% y/y vs +2.3% expected

  • Prior y/y +2.5%

Details:

  • Goods producing +0.6%
  • Service producing +0.5%
  • Mining, quarrying, oil & gas +1.8% m/m and +6.4% y/y
  • Utilities -2.4%
  • Wholesale trade +1.4%
  • Retail trade +2.0%
  • Industrial production +0.5%

This was a solid report that wasn't driven by and clear one-off. 19 of 20 industrial sectors rose while all services-producing industrial rose. The jump in mining, quarrying, oil & gas should Canada may be benefitting more from higher commodity prices than believed. It's the fourth consecutive month of rises.

One caveat might be that after terrible weather in April, there was some give-back in May. Retail's 2.0% rise, for instance, came after a 1.0% decline in April. Similarly construction bounced and utilities reversed on less demand for heating.

Here's the chart of mining, quarrying, oil & gas: