Canadian Feb retail sales ex-autos +0.5 vs +0.6% exp

• headline sales -0.2% vs +0.1%
• prior revised to +0.2% from +0.5%
• prior ex-autos revised to -0.8% from -0.5%

Ugly report on the face of it although a 2.8% drop in new car sales was the catalyst. Building materials were a bright spot, up 2.2%, but that’s likely weather related.