The data, published
by Statistics Canada on Friday, showed that Canadian retail sales climbed 0.8
per cent to CAD69.83
billion in March, following a downwardly revised 0.5 per cent m-o-m decrease (from -0.4 per cent m-o-m) in February. That
marked the first monthly
gain in retail sales in three months.
Economists
had forecast a jump of
0.7 per cent m-o-m for March.
According
to the report, 6 out of 9 subsectors recorded
advances in retail sales in March, led by motor vehicle and parts dealers (+4.8
per cent m-o-m), building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (+2.6
per cent m-o-m), and clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage
and leather goods retailers (+2.6 per cent m-o-m).
Excluding auto,
retail sales decreased 0.7 per cent m-o-m in March after an upwardly revised 0.6 per cent m-o-m increase (from +0.5
per cent m-o-m) in the previous month, being much worse than economists’ prediction
of a flat m-o-m performance.
In y-o-y terms,
Canadian retail sales surged 5.6 per cent in March, following an unrevised 4.7 per cent rise in the previous month. That marked
the strongest annual advance in retail sales so far this year.
Over the first
quarter of 2025, Canada’s retail sales rose 1.2 per cent, recording the third
consecutive quarterly increase.
Statistics
Canada also said its preliminary estimates suggest that Canada’s retail sales went up 0.5 per cent m-o-m in April.