Canada's mining and quarrying sector up 1.7% in August - StatCan
(Kitco News) - According to data releasedtoday by Statistics Canada (StatCan), Canada's real gross domestic product(GDP) rose 0.4% in August, led by increases in accommodation and food services,retail trade and transportation.
"The continued easing ofpublic health restrictions and further reopening across the country increaseddemand across many close contact service industries,” StatCan said in astatement.
StatCan reported that overall,15 of 20 industrial sectors were up as growth in services-producing industries(+0.6%) more than offset a decline in goods-producing industries (-0.1%).
The authors of the reportnoted that the domestic mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction was flat,following two months of expansion, as growth in mining and quarrying (exceptoil and gas) and support activities was offset by lower oil and gas extraction.
StatCan pointed out that miningand quarrying (except oil and gas) rose 1.7% in August, as coal (+6.7%), metalore (+0.7%) and non-metallic mineral (+1.5%) mining were up.
Support activities formining, and oil and gas extraction expanded 4.3% in August on higher riggingand support activities for mining.
Meanwhile, oil and gasextraction contracted 1.6%, with a 3.2% decline in oil sands extraction morethan offsetting a 0.4% increase in oil and gas extraction (except oil sands).
Preliminary informationindicates that real GDP was essentially unchanged in September.
"Widespread increases led bymining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, wholesale trade andtransportation were offset a by significant drop in manufacturing due to lowersales in transportation equipment and a decline in retail trade,” StatCan said.
By Vladimir BasovFor Kitco News
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