Retail sales numbers for Canada

  • Prior +1.5% (revised to +1.6%)
  • Ex-autos +1.6% vs +0.9% exp
  • Prior ex autos +0.8%

This is a mixed bag. Autos were weak but gasoline sales were up 5.9% on a jump in prices.

More subsectors:

  • Electronics and appliance stores posted a 12.9% sales gain
  • Sales at general merchandise stores +1.8%
  • Clothing and clothing accessories stores rose 3.0%
  • Motor vehicle and parts dealers -3.6%
  • Ecommerce sales were up 25.5% y/y compared to 19.4% in Oct
  • Ecommerce was 3.5% of retail trade, up from 2.6% in Oct
  • Full report

The Canadian dollar is a bit higher on the ex-autos data but this looks like part of the secular transition to earlier Christmas sales because of Black Friday. In the US, November retail sales were very strong but December was weak. Look out for that in a month.