Rising commodity prices boost Canada's latest quarterly earnings.

The latest data from Statistics Canada shows that the rise in commodity prices in the first quarter boosted corporate operating profits. In the first quarter, the operating profits of businesses in the country reached 209.9 billion Canadian dollars, up 2% from the previous quarter and 3.4% year-on-year. This growth was mainly driven by the non-financial sector, with oil and natural gas extraction companies leading the way. Against the backdrop of rising oil prices amid conflicts in the Middle East, the total operating profit of these companies soared by 35% quarter-on-quarter to 3 billion Canadian dollars. Statistics Canada stated that the operating profits of the mining industry increased by 11%, reaching 299 million Canadian dollars mainly due to the rise in gold and copper prices. In contrast, profits in the manufacturing sector decreased by 1.7% to 19.7 billion Canadian dollars. Operating profits in the financial sector increased slightly by 0.8% to 99.7 billion Canadian dollars.