Weakest economic data since 2008 crisis.
By Raif Karerat
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Canada’s economy recoiled for the second-straight quarter of 2015 — dumping the country into technical recession for the first half of the year, new Statistics Canada data revealed Tuesday.
The announcement follows the nation’s weakest economic output since the 2008 global financial crisis.
The federal agency said real gross domestic product contracted at an annual pace of 0.5 percent in the second quarter of the year, which followed a revised decline of 0.8 percent during the first three months of 2015.
On the positive side, there was evidence to suggest Canada’s economy began to bounce back in June as GDP grew by 0.5% for the month after shrinking over five straight months, reported the Canadian Press. That June increase was led by a 3.1 percent boost in natural resources extraction — the category’s first increase following seven consecutive months of decline.
Canada’s expansive array of natural resources constitute nearly 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and are linked directly or indirectly to 1.8 million jobs, according to the government site Natural Resources Canada.
Canada is one of the top five natural gas and crude oil-producing countries in the world, according to the International Business Times. It also produces potash, uranium, aluminum and other valuable metals and minerals.
Some predictions for Canada’s third quarter forecast economic growth, ranging from 2 to 2.5 percent, according to TD bank, or 1.5 percent, per the Bank of Canada. Others, however, are less optimistic.
“Most of the forward-looking indicators are pointing to further weakness,” David Madani, an economist at the London-based consulting group Capital Economics, told the Canadian Press. “We are expecting a return to positive growth, but I think it’s going to be growth that’s fairly weak — well below the economy’s potential growth rate of two percent.”