XPost: can.politics, can.general, soc.culture.canada   
   XPost: can.atlantic.general, soc.culture.quebec, quebec.general   
   From: none@none.com   
      
   Canada's GDP growing at 2.8% pace.   
      
   Increase in exports, household spending drive increase, StatsCan says   
      
   Nov 28, 2014   
      
   Canada's economy expanded by even more than economists had been   
   expecting in the third quarter, Statistics Canada reported Friday.   
      
   Canada's gross domestic product expanded at a 2.8 per cent annual pace   
   in the past three months, Statistics Canada said today, much better   
   than expected by economists.   
      
   An increase in exports and an uptick in household spending were the two   
   main drivers of the increase, the data agency said Friday.   
      
   The 2.8 per cent figure is well ahead of the 2.1 per cent that   
   economists had been expecting — but still not as good as the 3.9 per   
   cent pace of growth posted by the U.S. earlier this week.   
      
   "Note that while this is a solid growth figure, this is still   
   underperformance relative to the U.S," Scotiabank said after the   
   numbers came out.   
      
   Exports increased by 1.7 per cent. In the previous quarter, they rose   
   by 4.4 per cent. Canada shipped out 2.2. per cent more crude oil during   
   the period, the data agency said.   
      
   Fridays numbers cover July, August and September — for the most part,   
   the three-month period before oil prices began their precipitous   
   decline. So it should be interesting to monitor if oil exports stay   
   strong even after prices have cratered.   
      
   "The good news is that the economy was in a surprisingly very good   
   place heading into the energy price storm," as BMO economist Doug   
   Porter put it.   
      
   The Bank of Canada had been expecting growth to come in at about 2.3   
   per cent, which means the reality is better than expected. Normally,   
   that would be a sign the bank would be leaning toward hiking rates to   
   slow down inflation. But in this case, it's likely the bank will think   
   the strong GDP growth will be offset by sinking oil prices, which are   
   down by almost 40 per cent from where they were this summer.   
      
   The end result is the strong GDP doesn't mean it's any more likely the   
   central bank will be in a hurry to hike rates, Porter said.   
      
   Another key Canadian industry, the auto sector, posted strong growth   
   figures.   
      
   Canada exported 2.2 per cent more cars and trucks during the period,   
   down from the 10 per cent gain in the previous quarter, but still a   
   solid showing.   
      
   TD Bank senior economist Randall Bartlett said the falling oil prices   
   "remain a dark cloud on the horizon" and noted that lower profits in   
   the oil sector will weigh on production growth and capital spending.   
      
   But strength in all other parts of Canada's economy are maybe enough to   
   offset that, he said.   
      
   "In any event, with momentum in other sectors, Canada's economy appears   
   well-positioned to weather the storm," Bartlett said.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)