Canadian wholesale sales jump 1.9% in April

Canadian wholesale sales surprised to the upside, posting a 1.9% gain in April and an upward revision to 1.0% (from 0.8%) in March. 

Details show the auto/auto parts sector as by far the biggest driver of the gain, though the report was decent beyond that, with sales rising in 7/10 provinces, representing 89% of national sales (Ontario was the outperformer at +3.4%). 

"Combined with yesterday's weak manufacturing sales report, our tracking for April GDP now stands at a solid 0.3%. We now look to Friday's retail sales figure to add further clarity on whether the start of Q2 was in fact 'decent' as tracking currently suggests",says RBC Capital Markets.