Thursday, November 28, 2013

Canadian Retail Sales and Consumer Price Inflation

Canadian retail sales rose 1 per cent in September, the third consecutive monthly increase. The advance in sales was largely attributable to higher sales of motor vehicles and parts. Excluding motor-vehicles, sales were flat.  Given today's retail sales data, our Canadian GDP tracking model estimates third quarter growth at 2.7 per cent.

Retail sales in BC were up for  a second straight month, rising 0.4 per cent month-over-month. Compared to September 2012, sales were up 3.1 per cent.  Year-to-date, BC retail sales are up just 1.1 per cent.

Declining gas prices pushed Canadian inflation lower in October, falling from an annual rate of 1.1 per cent in September to just 0.7 per cent in the 12 months to October. The Bank of Canada's preferred measure of core inflation, which excludes the most volatile components of the CPI, continues to trend well below the Bank's 2 per cent inflation target, rising just 1.2 per cent.

Copyright BCREA –reprinted with permission


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