Canada's economy shrank 0.1% in April, Statistics Canada says

Canada's economy shrank by 0.1 per cent in April as a large drop-off in the value of domestically made goods wasn't offset by a slight increase in output from the service sector.

Statistics Canada said Tuesday that the economy has contractedevery month this year.

The goods-producingsector contracted by 0.8 per cent. The service sector, meanwhile, expanded by 0.3 per cent.

Oil and gas extraction fell by 3.4 per cent, the data agency said. Mining and quarrying was down by the same amount.

"The oil shock continues to reverberate through the Canadian economy, in all its various forms," BMO economist Doug Porter said of the numbers. "The economy as a whole has only managed to grow by 1.2 per centin the past year, with the resource sector alone carving 0.7 percentage points from annual growth."

The retail sector also shrank, by 0.2 per cent during the month. That's a reversal from gains seen in the previous two months.

Statistics Canada said "declines were notable at food and beverage stores, electronics and appliance stores, as well as health and personal-care stores."

On the flip side, sales ofmotor vehicles and parts, as well as clothing and clothing accessories were comparatively strong.