OTTAWA -
Canada's economy grew in June according to official data released this morning, the first monthly increase since July 2008.
The 0.1 per cent increase in inflation-adjusted GDP for June reported by Statistics Canada was below private-sector expectations of an 0.2 per cent increase in real gross domestic product.
Economists have been looking for evidence to support the Bank of Canada's assertion that this country's economy has begun to recover from the worst recession in decades and will show some growth in the third quarter.
Statistics Canada said the economy slipped 0.9 for the second quarter as a whole, spanning the months of April through June, but that was an improvement over the 1.6 per cent drop recorded in the first quarter of 2009.
June's growth was driven by higher activity in oil and gas, wholesale trade and real estate.
Decreases in metallic ore mines, manufacturing and, to a lesser extent, construction partly offset these gains.
