Data released by Statistics Canada a moment ago showed that retail sales rose by 2.1% in August to reach $57.2 billion, after declining by about -0.6% in the July reading, to exceed expectations that it would rise to 2%, supported by an increase in sales of food and beverage stores by about 4.8 And the growth of sales of petrol stations by 3.8%, and clothing and accessories stores by 3.9%.
Core retail sales, excluding petrol stations and auto and auto parts trade, rose by 2.7% in August after declining by -1% in July, supported by a 2.8% rise in building materials and garden equipment sales.
Sales rose in nine of the 11 sub-sectors representing 94.6% of Canada’s retail trade, rising by 1.4% in volume terms in August.
The Canadian dollar has recorded continuous rises since the beginning of the session against the US dollar, taking advantage of the rises in crude and the declines of the US dollar, before finally benefiting from the gains of the retail sector, and it is trading at 1.2323 levels.