The Canadian economy stood pretty much still in February.
Figures released Friday morning by Statistics Canada found gross domestic product unchanged that month, following a hike of 0.6% in January. Even so, economists look to the economy to show strong growth in the first quarter.
Gains in service-producing industries were offset by declines in goods-producing industries.
StatsCan says service-producing industries were up 0.2% for the month, while goods-producing industries fell 0.3%, the first move lower since October.
The real estate and rental and leasing sector grew 0.5% in February, led by a 5.3% gain in output of real estate agents and brokers, mainly as a result of notable gains in activity in and around the Greater Toronto Area.
The manufacturing sector declined 0.6% in February after growing in seven of the previous eight months. The majority of sub-sectors declined across both durable and non-durable manufacturing.
