Canadian Retail Sales Rise by 2.5% in December Driven by Food and Autos; Expected to Decrease by 0.4% in January

Canadian retail sales increased by 2.5% in December compared to November, reaching C$69.59 billion ($49.05 billion). This growth was primarily driven by higher sales at food and beverage retailers, as well as motor vehicle and parts dealers, according to Statistics Canada. The agency indicated a potential 0.4% decline in sales for January, based on a preliminary estimate.

In December, sales rose across all nine subsectors, with a 2.5% increase in volume terms. Monthly percentage changes for December were as follows: Total +2.5% (+3.9% year-on-year), Excluding autos/parts +2.7% (+2.6% year-on-year).

It is noteworthy that all figures are seasonally adjusted. Analysts, as surveyed by Reuters, had expected a 1.6% increase in December retail sales and a 1.8% increase excluding autos.

($1=$1.4189 Canadian)

Reporting by Dale Smith; Editing by Promit Mukherjee