Canadian shoppers showed signs of cooling as Statistics Canada said Friday retail sales in May rose less than its early estimate for the month and suggested they were little changed in June.
The agency reported retail sales rose 0.2 per cent to $66.0-billion in May, helped by gains at new car dealers and grocery stores, however that was short of its early estimate for the month that pointed toward a gain of 0.5 per cent.
In volume terms, retail sales rose 0.1 per cent for May.
Statistics Canada also said its initial estimate for June suggested retail sales for that month were unchanged, but cautioned the figure would be revised.
TD Bank economist Maria Solovieva said May brought a sizable deceleration in retail spending growth after a revised increase of 1.0 per cent for April, which was reported last month at 1.1 per cent.
“The only sector that points to a decisive gain is auto sales, where both nominal and unit sales were up,” Solovieva wrote in a report.
“The rest of the categories are a mixed bag that points to consumers prioritizing spending on groceries at an expense of discretionary purchases.”’ Solovieva said the Bank of Canada expects that household consumption will slow over the course of next year as its interest rate hikes work their way through the economy.
“With today’s reading, there is evidence that this slowdown is materializing. Still, consumers have financial resources in the form of excess savings, so the path to moderation may not be a smooth one,” she said.
Sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers gained 0.8 per cent in May, helped higher by a 0.7 per cent sales gain at new car dealers and a 5.5 per cent increase in the other motor vehicle dealers category.
Meanwhile, sales at food and beverage retailers rose 1.0 per cent as sales at supermarkets and grocery stores gained 1.4 per cent.
Sales at clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewellery, luggage and leather goods retailers fell 0.8 per cent in May, while building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers dropped 1.5 per cent.
Core retail sales – which exclude gas stations and fuel vendors, along with motor vehicle and parts dealers – were unchanged in May.
A report Thursday by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce suggested that Canadian consumers kept spending in the second quarter, however it noted the spending turned a corner after the Bank of Canada resumed its interest rate hikes in early June.
Looking ahead, Chamber chief economist Stephen Tapp said he expects consumer spending to slow noticeably in the second half of the year, as people cut back on discretionary purchases.
The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in June and another quarter of a percentage point earlier this month to bring its key policy rate to five per cent.
The increases by the central bank prompted the big commercial banks to increase their prime lending rates, raising the cost of variable rate loans such as variable rate mortgages and home equity lines of credit.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
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