Funds invested in Canadian stocks put in another strong performance in October, driven by the country’s faster-than-expected economic growth and record-high oil prices. Morningstar Canada said today that its Canadian Equity (Pure) Fund Index gained 3.2% during the month.

According to preliminary data, 20 of the 32 Morningstar Canada fund indices gained ground during October, one more than in September.

“While oil prices wreaked havoc on many other major markets, they have been a boon for the Canadian economy,” said Morningstar Canada analyst Mark Chow, in a release. “Canada’s economy is growing faster than expected and numbers have been revised upward. Meanwhile, the second interest rate hike in two months brought the Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate to 2.50%, and the Canadian dollar is now trading at highs not seen since the early 1990s.”

Funds focused on gold had another strong month, as the Morningstar Canada Precious Metals Fund Index gained 2.8%, a return duplicated by the Canadian Dividend Fund Index. The next best performers were Canadian Equity and Canadian Income Trusts, both at 2%.

“Canadian Dividend funds fared well on the backs of dividend-paying stocks in the resource, financial and telecommunications sectors,” Chow said. “Companies such as Shell Canada Ltd., Husky Energy Inc. and BCE Inc. all saw their share prices rise in October.”

The month’s worst performing fund index was Healthcare, which lost 5.4%, followed by Asia ex-Japan at -2.3% and U.S. Equity at -2%.

Natural Resources, coming off a top-ranked performance in September, is the best performing fund index year-to-date, up 13.7% for the 10 months ended Oct. 31, followed by Canadian Income Trusts at 13.2% and Latin American Equity at 10.2%.