Highlights of the December Canadian retail sales report:
- Lowest ex-autos reading since Dec 2008
- Prior ex-autos was +0.4% (revised to +0.3%)
- Overall sales -1.8% vs -0.4% expected
- Prior sales revised to 0.5% from 0.6%
USD/CAD is being pulled in opposite directions by retail sales and CPI. Higher inflation is likely to take the BOC out of the equation for now but that retail sales number is terrible and with momentum working to push USD/CAD higher, I expect the dip to be bought.
Canadian retail sales ex autos
