Canada GDP Recovery Slows to 1.2% in August, Statistics Agency Says

TORONTO (Sputnik) - Canada’s economic recovery slowed in August, with the country’s gross domestic product rising by 1.2 percent, down from 3 percent in July and 6.5 percent in June, and real economic activity remains 5 percent below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, Statistics Canada said in a report on Friday.

"Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.2 percent in August, following a 3.1 percent increase in July," Statistics Canada said. "Overall economic activity was still about 5 percent below February's pre-pandemic level."

Statistics Canada noted that the country’s economy grew for the fourth consecutive month in August.

Fifteen of Canada’s industrial sectors saw increased economic activity, while the resource and extractions sectors experienced a decline in August, it added.

Last month, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer said in a report that the Canadian economy is expected to recover to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels by early 2022.

Since the beginning of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Canada has been experiencing the country's worst economic decline, estimated at 5.1 percent in real GDP, a level unseen since 1962.