Canada Retail Sales rose 0.7% in October vs. 0.8% expected

• Retail Sales rose 0.7% in October, slightly below expectations. 
• USD/CAD drops from 1.3350 to fresh daily lows, as the US Dollar weakens following US data. 

Retail Sales in Canada increased by 0.7% on a monthly basis to C$66.9 billion, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday. This reading followed a 0.5% advance in September (revised from 0.6%) and came in below the expectation of a 0.8% increase expected. 

In the same period, Retail Sales ex Autos rose by 0.6%, above the 0.5% of market consensus. “Core retail sales—which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers—were up 1.2% in October,” the press release further read.

Statistics Canada provided an advance estimate of retail sales for November, “which suggests that sales were relatively unchanged”. 

Market reaction

The USD/CAD fell from 1.3350 after the release of Canadian and US economic data (Philly Fed, Jobless Claims and Q3 GDP). The Greenback weakened after the report with the US Dollar Index falling to fresh daily lows under 102.00.