Canada retail sales +0.6% vs. expectations +0.2

Canada June retail sales

The Canada retail sales came in at +0.6 vs. +0.2 estimate. The prior month was revised down slightly to +0.9% from 1.0%. Ex-auto MoM for June came in better at +0.8 vs. +0.5% expectations (prior month revised down to +0.8 from +0.9%).

The gains are being attributed to consumers taking advantage of easier rules on mobile phone contracts. Electronic an appliance store sales rose by 9.4%, the fastest on record. Gasoline station sales rose by 2.6% on higher gas prices. Building materials and Garden equipment were the largest MoM negative at -1.4%

8 of the 11 components showed gains. All provinces showed advancements.

One negative is that the volume of sales - a measure that excludes the effects of price changes - was unchanged on the month.

The USDCAD fell on the news but is nearly back to where it started (at 1.3085). The low extended to 1.3042..