OTTAWA, March 1, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Canada's economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.0 percent in the final three months of 2023, reversing a decline from the previous quarter, the government statistical agency said Thursday.

Oil led the 1.4 percent rise in exports, following a small drop the previous quarter, while imports fell 0.4 percent due to fewer vehicle and parts shipments, Statistics Canada said in a statement.

Business investment, meanwhile, fell for a sixth time over the past seven quarters.

The expansion of the Canadian economy, after a 0.5 percent contraction -- which was revised downward from 1.1 percent in the latest data release -- exceeded expectations.

The Bank of Canada has forecast modest economic growth in 2024.

The central bank has been widely expected to cut interest rates as early as June after having hiked rates aggressively over the past year and a half in an effort to tame inflation.

Inflation dropped in January to 2.9 percent, within the bank's target of range of 1 to 3 percent.

In the last three months of 2023, according to Statistics Canada, household spending rose 0.2 percent, while growth in employee compensation, which had spiked recently, slowed to 2020 levels.

For all of 2023, household spending slowed to 1.7 percent, down from 5.1 percent in 2022.

Investment in housing -- amid a housing crunch -- meanwhile, fell 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter. This was the sixth decline in the last seven quarters.

Despite increased activity in new construction and renovations, fueled in part by the federal government pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into affordable housing of late, the resale market weakened across Canada.