(Adds details from report)
OTTAWA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Canada's industrial capacity use
rose in the third quarter after two consecutive periods of
decline, boosted by a pick-up in the oil and gas extraction
sector, data from Statistics Canada showed on Thursday.
Capacity utilization was 82.0 percent, topping economists'
forecasts for an increase to 81.9 percent. The second quarter
was revised slightly higher to 81.4 percent from an initially
reported 81.3 percent.
Oil and gas extraction was mainly responsible for the growth
in the utilization rate, the agency said, with the sector rising
to 86.5 percent. The industry saw a higher volume of
non-conventional oil extraction and gas extraction.
Canada has been hurt by the drop in the price of oil, a key
export for the country. Although the economy emerged from a mild
recession in the third quarter, the recent renewed downturn in
oil has raised concerns of weaker-than-expected growth in the
final quarter of the year.
Capacity use in the manufacturing sector rose to 83.1
percent in the third quarter. Utilization increased in 14 of the
21 major manufacturing groups, accounting for about 65 percent
of the gross domestic product of the sector.
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Graphic - Canada economic dashboard: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/sc-canada/index.html
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