- Prior was +2.5% (revised to +2.6%)
- February advance reading -0.4%
- Jan ex-autos +0.2% vs -0.2% expected
- Jan motor vehicle and parts dealers -2.6%
- Jan furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliances retailers +3.0% (a good sign, though perhaps skewed by HST holiday)
This is a decent number on the headline and particularly on ex-autos but my focus is on February after tariff threats turned real. The -0.4% is surprisingly good and should help the loonie.
Retail sales m/m
There are some real cross-currents in the Canadian economy right now and a lot of angst. The signals from the housing market have been poor but spending is holding up.
