By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Statistics Canada said Tuesday it anticipates that manufacturing sales climbed 0.6% in October, marking another deceleration in the factory sector's recovery from a virus-induced plunge.
The data agency said the estimate is based on strong sales of petroleum and coal products, paper, primary metals and wood products industries. The advance reading was based on a response rate of almost 60% to the survey. The official results for December are scheduled for release Dec. 15.
In September, factory shipments climbed 1.5% to 53.08 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of $40.57 billion, and remained 3.6% below prepandemic levels.
CIBC Capital Markets said the manufacturing estimate, coupled with employment data for the same month that showed gains in jobs and hours worked, suggest Canada's gross domestic product in October is on pace for a 0.3% month-over-month increase. "That said, some of the more positive data of late are being offset in our forecast by the higher virus case counts and stricter shutdowns that have been required," CIBC said.
Canada's seven- and 14-day average of confirmed Covid-19 cases sit at fresh highs, and roughly double from a month ago.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-24-20 0920ET
