Statistics Canada announced on Friday that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.5 percent m-o-m in March, following a revised 0.2 m-o-m decline in February (originally a drop of 0.1 percent m-o-m). 

That was below economists’ forecast for a gain of 0.4 percent m-o-m. 

In the first quarter of 2019, the Canadian GDP rose 0.1 percent q-o-q, the same growth rate as the fourth quarter of 2018. That was the lowest quarterly increase in GDP since the second quarter of 2016.

Expressed at an annualized rate, Canada’s GDP increased 0.4 percent in the first quarter, while economists had predicted it would grow 0.7 percent.

According to the report, growth in GDP was driven by a 0.9 percent rise in household spending and an 8.7 percent climb in business investment in machinery and equipment. These increases were moderated by a 1.0percent decline in exports, coupled with a 1.9 percent increase in imports. Additionally, investment in housing continued to decrease, down 1.6 percent in the first quarter.