Canada's Preliminary GDP Seen Higher in August After July's Unchanged GDP

08:53 AM EDT, 09/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Canada's preliminary gross domestic product rose 0.2% on the month in August, driven by gains in mining, quarrying and retail trade, after GDP remained essentially unchanged in July, while weaker oil and natural gas extraction partly offset the increase, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. July's flat GDP reading posted gains in construction and utilities, which were offset by declines elsewhere, the agency wrote. Services activity was broadly unchanged in July, with gains across several sectors offset by weakness in retail and wholesale trade, added StatsCan. July's GDP was in line with a consensus flat reading provided by a Bloomberg survey. Construction activity rose 1.3% monthly in July, extending its growth streak to four months, while utilities increased 1.7% following a contraction in June. Manufacturing output fell 0.9% on the month, reflecting declines in both durable and non-durable goods. Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction dropped 0.5%, with all subsectors recording declines. Retail trade decreased 1.0%, reversing most of June's increase, while wholesale trade fell 0.4%. Professional, scientific and technical services rose 0.3%, posting their strongest monthly growth since November 2024. For Canada, GDP measures the production of goods and services in the economy. GDP represents the unduplicated value of goods and services produced during the reference period and are available for domestic consumption, investment or export.