Canadian retail sales for May from StatsCan:

  • Prior was -0.1% (no revisions)
  • Retail sales ex-autos +0.9% vs +0.8% expected
  • Prior ex-autos -0.6% (revised to -0.5%)
  • Sales up in 9 of 11 major categories
  • Sales up 2.7% y/y
  • New care sales +2%, fourth straight increase
  • Electronics and appliances +6.1%
  • Full report

A separate report from StatsCan on employment insurance recipients showed a 10.4% increase in the number of people on the dole in oil-rich Alberta and up 0.9% nationwide. Retail sales in Alberta were also down 1.7% y/y.

USDCAD at 1.2960 before the data and touched a session low of 1.2949 afterwards. The details of the report are solid, especially gains in big-ticket items like electronics (although they're down 0.2% y/y).

There's no recession for Canadian consumers, at least not yet. The four-month moving average of retail sales is at the highest since March 2010.