GDP was largely flat in July, in line with preliminary estimates…

… on nil growth in both goods and services GDP. At the industrial sector level, results were mixed…

… with strength in construction and utilities offsetting weakness in manufacturing, retail trade, and resource extraction (potash, oil).

Momentum is building in construction, which has recovered all lost ground since August of last year and posted its highest growth in two years - thanks to a large hospital project in Ontario…

… while the manufacturing decline was the first in the last four months, driven mainly by natural resources - with petroleum refining activity down 6.2%.

Despite the soft print, early estimates call for a 0.2% recovery in August - with a rebound in mining and retail trade carrying weaker oil & gas extraction.

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