Canada's July Retail Sales Fall 0.8% as June Ex-Auto Gains Failed to Carry Into Q3

3 articles · Updated · continuumeconomics.com · Aug 21

Canada’s preliminary July retail sales estimate fell 0.8%, pointing to a weak start to the third quarter after a stronger finish to Q2.
June sales had risen 0.5% excluding autos and 1.2% excluding autos and gasoline, making July’s drop more disappointing because gasoline prices had started edging higher again.
Gasoline sales fell 4.1% in June and food slipped 0.4%, though other categories were firm, led by general merchandise up 2.7% and clothing-related retailers up 3.1%.
Bank of Canada meeting minutes already showed policymakers split on whether an expected Q2 GDP pickup would be sustainable, and the July sales estimate adds to signs of softer real activity.

Sources

Could July's alarming retail plunge be a massive statistical illusion driven by unusually low survey response rates?

As e-commerce surges and debt mounts, are Canadians fundamentally shifting how they spend or simply running out of cash?

Will rising gas prices in late summer finally break the resilience of shoppers already squeezed by record-low savings?