The data, issued
by Statistics Canada on Friday, showed that Canadian retail sales declined 0.8
per cent m-o-m to CAD66.13 billion in May, following a downwardly revised 0.6
per cent m-o-m increase (from +0.7 per cent m-o-m) in April. This marked the steepest monthly drop in retail sales since March 2023 (-1.4 per cent
m-o-m).
Economists
had predicted a fall of
0.6 per cent m-o-m for May.
According
to the report, 8 of 9 subsectors demonstrated decreases in retail sales in May, led by building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers
(-2.7 per cent m-o-m), food and beverage retailers (-1.9 per cent m-o-m) and clothing,
clothing accessories, shoes, jewellery, luggage and leather goods retailers
(-1.5 per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile, motor vehicle and parts dealers (+0.8 per cent
m-o-m) was the only
sector that showed an advance in retail sales in May.
Excluding auto,
retail sales plunged 1.3 per cent m-o-m in May after a downwardly revised 1.7 per cent m-o-m climb (from +1.8 per
cent m-o-m) in the previous month, being much worse
than economists’ forecast of a 0.5 per cent fall.
In y-o-y terms,
Canadian retail sales were up 1.0 per cent in May, following a downwardly revised
1.5 per cent soar (from +1.8 per cent) in the previous month.
Statistics
Canada also noted its preliminary estimates suggest that Canada’s retail sales fell 0.3 per cent m-o-m in June.