Canadian GDP likely contracted in Q4 and outlook does not look bright as coronavirus fears could crimp future growth

Scotiabank thinks Canada’s economy in the fourth quarter fared worse than the Bank of Canada’s projection of 0.3 per cent and may even have slipped into negative territory if the spate of recent economic data coming out of the manufacturing sector was any indicator.

“Q4 GDP growth overall is likely tracking considerably below the BoC’s 0.3 per cent growth rate and perhaps in very mild contraction territory,”Derek Holt, Vice-President & Head of Capital Markets Economics.

The underwhelming data will likely force the Bank’s hand.