Retail sales decreased. 0.3 percent less in January, and an initial estimation indicates minimal growth in February, as reported by Statistics Canada on Friday.
In January, sales reduced to $67.0 billion, mainly due to a drop in auto and auto parts sales, marking the first decline in this category in five months, according to the federal agency.
Statistics Canada predicts that there was a 0.1 percent increase in retail sales in February.
“In general, today’s data indicates that consumer spending is still having difficulty expanding in a higher interest rate environment, but it is not collapsing,” noted CIBC economist Andrew Grantham in a comment on the data.
More information will follow…
- Bank of Canada policymakers disagree on when they can reduce rates
- Canada's inflation rate slows down more than anticipated
Don’t miss the business news you need to know — add financialpost.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
