Economics

GDP Stall Puts Canada on Thin Ice Even Before Coronavirus

  • Odds of Bank of Canada rate cut next week triple to 66%
  • Fourth-quarter growth of 0.3% was slowest pace since 2016
Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg
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Canada’s economy had already slid to a near haltBloomberg Terminal in the fourth quarter even before fallout from the coronavirus reverberated through global markets.

Gross domestic product grew at an annualized pace of 0.3% -- essentially a stall -- in the three months through December, the slowest quarterly pace of growth since 2016. Previous hopes for a quick rebound in 2020 are fading as new infections and deaths from the virus continue to climb, with no end in sight.