The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that statistics Canada posted a fourth-quarter contraction in real gross domestic product Friday that economists argue conceals some promising details in underlying economic data. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe quotes Statscan saying Friday that real GDP declined 0.6 per cent on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter, falling short of expectations for flat growth. Statscan said the main culprit was businesses drawing down their inventories. Nathan Janzen, RBC's assistant chief economist, said declining inventories were not necessarily a cause for alarm. Spending was meanwhile rising across the economy last quarter, he explained, a sign that production will increase to meet the demand. "You would be more worried if, say, inventories were building rapidly and spending was falling, in which case it would be a sign the economy was overproducing," Mr. Janzen said. Statscan said a rise in household spending and increased government capital spending -- particularly on weapons systems -- gave the economy a lift in the quarter. Statscan said real GDP rose 1.7 per cent in 2025 over all, its slowest pace of annual growth since 2016, outside the COVID-19 pandemic.