Canada July retail sales -0.8% vs versus 1.5% expected

• The advanced July report was +0.7%
• Prior was +1.5%
• Ex-autos -1.2% vs -0.7% expected
• Prior ex-autos +1.9%
• Sales down in 8 of 9 subsectors
• Advance August report +1.0%

The cardholder data from RBC earlier this week showed headline sales down 2.2% but core sales up 0.4% The advanced reading from Statistics Canada was much stronger with a +1.0% reading. There have been some reports of North American retailers highlighting that Canadian consumers have held up better than in the USA.

Details for July:

• Sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers edged up 0.2% in July
• food and beverage retailers -1.3% with supermarkets down 2.5%
• Clothing -3.2%

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.