Canada December retail sales +2.5% vs +1.6% expected

• Prelim December estimate was +1.6%
• November sales were +0.0%
• Retail sales ex-autos +2.7% vs +1.8% expected
• Prior ex-autos were -0.7%
• Core sales +2.5% vs -1.0% prior
• 2024 retail sales rose 1.3%
• January advanced sales -0.4%

There were early indications of a weak January number but the December number was particularly strong. That’s a good sign for the Canadian consumer but it’s somewhat tempered because there was an HST sales tax holiday in Canada in December that boosted consumption as a one-off and just expired.

USD/CAD is about 10 pips lower on the report.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.