The Financial Post reports in its Saturday, May 31, edition that the Canadian economy grew at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent in the first quarter, exceeding economists' expectations and potentially influencing the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision. The Post's Jordan Gowling writes that growth was fuelled by increased exports, as businesses stockpiled inventory ahead of U.S. tariff announcements. Additionally, business investment in machinery and equipment rose by 5.3 per cent, while the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas sector grew by 1.4 per cent. RBC says, "While this headline suggests relative stability, the underlying picture is more nuanced -- the Q1 GDP increase was largely accounted for by a pre-tariff inventory build and surge in machinery investment (22.9 per cent) that won't likely be sustained." An advance estimate for April has GDP growing by 0.1 per cent, with growth in mining and oil offset by declines in manufacturing. Manufacturing declined by 0.4 per cent in March, the first monthly contraction in three months. Utilities were also down on a monthly basis in March, declining by 4.1 per cent. Those declines were offset by gains in construction activity, retail trade, and the mining, oil and gas sector.