Canada retail sales for March 0.9% vs 0.6% estimate

• Prior month 0.7%
• Retail sales 0.9% vs 0.6% estimate
• Retail sales ex autos 1.4% vs 0.9% estimate

Other details:

• Retail sales rose 0.9% in March to $72.7 billion.
• Four of nine subsectors posted gains, led by gasoline stations and fuel vendors.
• Core retail sales (excluding gasoline stations/fuel vendors and motor vehicle/parts dealers) fell 0.1% in March.
• Retail sales volumes declined 0.7% in March, indicating lower real spending after adjusting for prices.
• First-quarter 2026 retail sales increased 2.1%, marking the seventh consecutive quarterly gain.
• Retail sales volumes rose 1.2% in Q1 2026.

The problem is in the ex Gas. The number was not so hot if you take out the gains from gas (higher prices). The retail sales volume declined by -0.7% . That makes the report not as good as it appears. The largest increase in retail sales in March was observed at gasoline stations and fuel vendors (+12.4%).

• Advanced retail sales for April +0.6%*

*This unofficial estimate was calculated based on responses received from 52.1% of companies surveyed. The average final response rate for the survey over the previous 12 months was 88.3%.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.