Canada retail sales rises in September

According to Statistics Canada's preliminary estimate, retail sales increased by a strong 0.4% month-over-month (m/m) in September. When inflation was taken into account, the gain was even more noticeable, with retail sales volume increasing by 0.8% month over month.

Sales at auto and parts dealers were a weaker sector, declining by 0.7% month over month following two months of improvement. Additionally, overall retail sales were impacted by decreasing gas costs. Although they climbed by 3.2% m/m in real terms, gas station and fuel vendor receipts decreased by 2.3% m/m in nominal terms.

Core retail sales up 1.4% month over month in September, excluding sales of cars and receipts from petrol stations. Strong results in food and beverage stores (+3.0% m/m) and building material and garden equipment stores (+3.0% m/m) were the main drivers of this expansion. Additionally, e-commerce revenues increased by 3.3% month over month after declining by 1.5% the month before.

As the third quarter came to a close, retail sales picked up steam, increasing 3.5% on a quarterly (q/q) annualized basis. Real consumption spending is expected to increase by 1.5–2.0% in the third quarter as a result of this strong finish.