08:53 AM EDT, 08/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Canadian real gross domestic product was essentially unchanged in June, following a 0.1% m/m increase in May as goods-producing industries (-0.4%) saw their largest decrease since December 2023 with declines in manufacturing and construction partially offset by increases in utilities and agriculture, said the country's statistical agency on Friday.

Services-producing industries (+0.1%) increased for the third consecutive month in June 2024. Overall, 12 of 20 sectors expanded in June.

June's flat reading was a tad lower than the 0.1% m/m consensus rise provided by MUFG.

Advance information indicates that real GDP by industry was essentially unchanged also in July, noted Statistics Canada in a statement. The construction, mining, quarrying, and oil and natural gas extraction and wholesale trade sectors recorded decreases, while finance and insurance and retail trade observed increases.

In June, durable goods manufacturing (-2.4% m/m) experienced its largest contraction since April 2021 and reached its lowest level since November 2021. Non-durable goods manufacturing contracted 0.3% m/m in June.

The construction sector contracted 0.6% in June to its lowest level since January 2021, with almost all subsectors down. Residential building construction (+0.3%) was the exception, recording its first increase in three months in June 2024, driven in large part by higher activity in the construction of apartments. Transportation and warehousing contracted 0.3% in June as most subsectors recorded declines. Air transportation (-1.9%) was one of the largest contributors to the decline in June as a strike by pilots at a major Canadian air carrier began at the end of the month.

The utilities sector (+2.3% m/m) posted a second consecutive monthly increase in June, reaching its highest level since April 2023. The real estate and rental and leasing sector (+0.3%) posted its second consecutive monthly increase in June.

The public sector (comprising educational services, health care and social assistance and public administration) increased for the sixth consecutive month, up 0.2% m/m in June. This was the slowest pace of growth since the contraction in December 2023.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.5% in Q2 after rising 0.4% in Q1, stated StatsCan. Higher government final consumption expenditures, business investment in engineering structures and machinery and equipment, and household spending on services in Q2 were moderated by declines in exports, residential construction and household spending on goods.

For Canada, GDP and Income and Expenditure Accounts measure the production of goods and services in the economy as well as the incomes arising from this production and expenditure on the production. GDP represents the unduplicated value of goods and services produced during the reference period and are available for domestic consumption, investment or export.