Growth sets torrid pace

Photo: Contributed

Economic growth in the country blew past expectations in May, powered by the energy sector, posting the fastest expansion on an annual basis since October 2000 and raising expectations the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again this fall.

Statistics Canada said Friday that real gross domestic product grew by 0.6 per cent for the month. Economists had expected an increase of 0.2 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate earlier this month for the first time since 2010. The central bank's target for the overnight rate sits at 0.75 per cent.

TD Bank senior economist Brian DePratto said the economic performance was healthy across nearly every industry.

"This is only going to strengthen the case for them," he said of the central bank.

The Canadian dollar, which has been gaining ground since the middle of last month when speculation of a central bank rate hike started, was trading at 80.52 cents US, up from an average price of 79.87 cents US on Thursday.

The Bank of Canada's next opportunity to raise its key rate is in September, but DePratto suggested it would wait until its October rate announcement when it will also update its economic forecasts in its monetary policy report.

Compared with a year ago, the economy soared 4.6 per cent. The result was the best since October 2000 when the economy posted year-over-year growth of 4.7 per cent.