Canada January retail sales -0.3% vs -0.4% expected

• Prior month +1.4%
• The January advance estimate was -0.6%
• Ex autos +0.5% vs -0.4% expected
• Prior month ex auto +0.6%
• Ex auto and gas +0.4%
• Sales were up in 6 of 9 subsectors
• Advance February retail sales +0.1%
• Full report

There was a large decrease in motor vehicle and parts dealers (-2.4%), which recorded their first decline in five months. Otherwise, this is a surprising show of strength from Canadian consumers and USD/CAD has ticked lower.