Statistics Canada to provide early look at how economy fared in second quarter – National | Globalnews.ca

Statistics Canada will say today how the economy fared in May and give its early estimate on the second quarter of the year.

Last month, the agency said its preliminary estimate was that real gross domestic product fell by 0.3 per cent in May, mirroring a similar decline in April.

The overall decline in April, as well as the early estimate for May, put overall economic activity about one per cent below pre-pandemic levels seen in February 2020.

But June brought promises of better numbers as vaccination rates rose and restrictions rolled back, although not fully in much of the country.

In a note setting up the release, BMO chief economist Douglas Porter says there will likely be a decline in real GDP for May, but a rebound in June that should mark the start of a run of gains as the economy steadily reopens.

The Bank of Canada this month forecasted that the economy would grow at an annualized rate of two per cent in the second quarter, down from its earlier estimate of 3.5 per cent.