Canada’s economy unexpectedly grew in the fourth quarter as a weak dollar reduced imports by the most in six years, taking pressure off the central bank to cut interest rates to record lows. Gross domestic product rose at a 0.8 percent annualized pace between October and December, Statistics Canada said Tuesday in Ottawa. Economists forecast output would be flat according to the median of a Bloomberg survey with 21 responses. Growth prospects for this year remain diminished with companies rattled by a plunge in commodity prices and a slow recovery in manufacturing, and consumers restricted in their spending by record debt loads. That leaves policy makers open to adding more stimulus. Finance Minister Bill Morneau is preparing a budget deficit that could triple his October campaign pledge, and Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz makes an interest rate decision next week after holding off on a cut in January to assess the recovery’s strength. The most significant contribution to the fourth-quarter expansion was a 8.9 percent drop in imports, the largest such decline since the first quarter of 2009. Canada’s dollar has weakened 7.5 percent over the last 12 months, and Canadians spent less money on foreign travel and electronics in the fourth quarter. The weaker currency failed to generate an increase in exports, which fell 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter. That was the fourth decline in the last five quarters. Business investment also declined by 6.5 percent, the fourth straight drop. Consumer spending rose at a 1 percent annualized pace, slower than the 2.2 percent pace set in the third quarter. Government consumption spending accelerated to 1.5 percent from 0.1 percent, Statistics Canada said. The overall GDP gain exceeds the Bank of Canada’s January prediction that output stalled in the fourth quarter. The bank also predicted growth would quicken to a 1 percent annualized pace in the first quarter of this year. The rise in gross domestic product marks a recovery from contractions in the first half of last year as oil shipments and investment tumbled. Growth for all of last year slowed to 1.2 percent from 2.5 percent in 2014, the weakest since 2009. Poloz said in January he avoided cutting his overnight rate from 0.5 percent because of signs a falling dollar would boost inflation too fast, and because the next federal budget is expected to provide extra stimulus to an economy already showing signs of momentum outside the energy industry. Swaps trading Monday showed a 13 percent chance the central bank will lower its key rate by a quarter point to 0.25 percent at the March 9 meeting. That would match the record low set during the global financial crisis. On a monthly basis, Canada’s gross domestic product rose 0.2 percent in December, with gains in manufacturing and wholesaling and a decline in the mining, oil and gas category. Economists forecast an expansion of 0.1 percent based on the median of 18 responses in a Bloomberg survey.