Canadian retail sales likely to have risen in July

Canadian retail sales data for the month of July is set to be released tomorrow. According to a TD Economics research report, retail sales are expected to have risen 0.1 percent in July as a fall in motor vehicle sakes counters a more upbeat 0.6 percent rise in the ex-autos measures.

Unseasonably warm weather across most of the nation will underpin gasoline sales along with higher prices at the pump, while alcohol sales might also benefit from the weather and World Cup festivities. Volumes are likely to see a slight fall on higher consumer prices which will set up for a more modest pace of consumer spending in the third quarter, particularly after a poor handoff from June added TD Economics. Nevertheless, this might not come as a grave concern to policymakers at the Bank of Canada concerned with elevated levels of household debt.

At 19:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Canadian Dollar was bearish at -88.9987, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was highly bearish at -113.511. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex