Canada’s retail business rebounds in Sep on higher automobiles sales, points to robust fourth quarter

Retail business in Canada rebounded during the month of September as sales of automobiles rose for the first time in three months, pointing to a robust start to the last quarter of this year, especially in terms of consumer spending.

Canada’s retail sales rose 0.6 percent to USD44.4 billion during September, data released by Statistics Canada showed Tuesday. The result was in line with analyst expectations, according to a Reuters survey. August retail sales were revised to 0.1 percent from -0.1 percent.

Sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers led the way, rising 2.4 percent. However, excluding autos, retail sales were flat for the month, missing the expectation for a 0.5 percent increase, compared to 0.2 percent in August, revised higher from 0 percent.

Sales at clothing stores edged up 0.2 percent, while purchases of electronics and appliances rose 0.3 percent. Sales at general merchandise stores rose 0.4 percent, recovering from the previous month's decline.

Further, of the total 11 sub-sectors, 7 reported a rise, accounting for 65 percent of the total retail trade volume. However, food, health and miscellaneous sectors remained a drag on retail trade, declining 0.8, 0.6 and 0.3 percent respectively.

In addition, e-commerce sales in September were USD958 million, making up 2.1 percent of all retail sales. In the first nine months of the year, the proportion of online purchases ranged from 2.3 percent in January to 1.9 percent in July, Statistics Canada added.

Meanwhile, USD/CAD is trading 0.03 percent higher at 1.34, while at 4:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly CAD Strength Index remained neutral at 28.18 (lower than the 75 benchmark for bullish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex