Canada April retail sales +0.3% vs +0.5% expected

• The advanced April report was +0.5%
• The March reading was +0.8%
• Ex-autos -0.3% vs +0.2% expected
• Prior ex-autos -0.7% (revised to -0.8%)
• Advance May report-1.1%

USD/CAD was trading at 1.3713 ahead of the data. The key number here is the advance May reading, which suggests a sharp drop in consumer spending. That report doesn’t break down the sources of weaker spending so it could just be autos on the tariff front-run but it raises the stakes for the next report.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.