- Prior month -0.1%
- Retail sales for March -0.2% vs 0.0% expected. Prior month -0.1%
- Retail sales ex-autos -0.6% versus 0.1% expected. Prior month -0.3% revised to -0.2%. This is the first decline in four months and was broad-based with sales at all but one core retail subsector being down
- The preliminary estimate for retail sales for April came in at +0.7%. That helps to soften the blow from the unexpected decline
Details:
- Sales were down in seven of nine subsectors and were led by decreases at furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliances retailers.
- In volume terms, retail sales decreased 0.4% in March.
- Retail sales were down 0.2% in the first quarter, while in volume terms, retail sales increased 0.3%
Sales were down in six provinces:
- Retail sales decreased in six provinces in March.
- Ontario experienced the largest provincial decrease (-0.3%), driven by lower sales in:
- Sporting goods
- Hobby
- Musical instrument
- Book and miscellaneous retailers
- In the Toronto CMA, sales increased by 1.5%.
- Saskatchewan saw a retail sales decrease of 3.4%, primarily due to lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
- The largest provincial increase in retail sales in March was in Quebec (+0.6%).
- In the Montréal CMA, sales increased by 0.3%.
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This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.
