Canada: Retail Sales decline by 2.1% in May vs. -3% expected

• Retail Sales in Canada continued to fall in May.
• USD/CAD extends sideways grind near 1.2560 after the data.

Retail Sales in Canada fell by 2.1% on a monthly basis in May, the data published by Statistics Canada showed on Friday. This reading followed April’s contraction of 5.6% and came in better than the market expectation for a decline of 3%.

“During the month of May, many retailers continued to face closures due to the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Statistics Canada noted in its press release. “Core retail sales—which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers—decreased 2.4%. In volume terms, retail sales decreased 2.7% in May.”

Market reaction

The USD/CAD pair showed no immediate reaction to this report and was last seen trading flat on the day at 1.2565.