Canada: Retail Sales rise by 18.7% in May vs. 20% expected

• Retail Sales in Canada rose less than expected in May.
• USD/CAD pair continues to edge lower, trades near 1.3450.

Retail Sales in Canada rose by 18.7% in May to $41.8 billion, the monthly data published by Statistics Canada revealed on Tuesday.

This reading followed an increase of 19.1% in April and came in slightly worse than the market expectation of 20%.

Key takeaways from the press release

"Following COVID-19-related store closures in April, a number of provinces moved ahead with plans to re-open their respective economies, which impacted the retail sector in May."

"Based on respondent feedback, approximately 23% of retailers were closed during May."

"Sales were up in 10 out of 11 subsectors in May."

"Retail sales in volume terms were up 17.8% in May, following a record decline of 24.1% in April."

Market reaction

The USD/CAD pair continued to push lower after this data and was last seen losing 0.6% on the day at 1.3452.