By CountingPips.com
Canadian Retail Sales decreased in November after three straight monthly increases according to the monthly report released by Statistics Canada today. Retail sales decreased by 0.3 percent to C$35.2 billion in November following a robust increase of 1.0 percent in October. The fall in retail sales was more than expected as economic forecasts were predicting a 0.2 percent decline for the month.
Core retail sales, excluding automobile sales, showed no change in November following a revised increase of 0.3 percent in October.
Contributing to the slide in the retail sales numbers was a decrease in clothing and accessories stores by 3.6 percent which the report said was due to unseasonably warm weather in Canada. This decline marked the largest drop in this sector since September 2002.
Sales at general merchandise stores fell by 2.8 percent for the month while sales at sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores declined by 4.1 percent. Automotive sales for November edged down by 0.2 percent as new car dealers sales declined by 2.2 percent.
Contributing positively to the retail sales report were gains in food and beverage stores by 0.9 percent and gasoline station sales by 2.4 percent. Sales at furniture, home furnishings & electronics stores rose by 1.1 percent while sales at building and outdoor home supplies stores also rose by 1.1 percent and miscellaneous store retailers advanced by 3.0 percent.
Saskatchewan was the province with the largest decline in November with a 1.1 percent fall as seven out of ten provinces saw decreases. New Brunswick’s retail sales fell by 1.0 percent and Alberta’s sales dropped by 0.8 percent. On the positive side, sales increases were registered in the Yukon, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Nunavut.
Canadian Loonie falls in Forex Trading.
The Canadian loonie dollar has been weaker today in the forex markets versus the major currencies after the lower retail sales data. The Canadian currency has decreased versus the euro, Japanese yen, U.S. dollar, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar while trading almost unchanged versus the British pound at just after noon EST in the North American trading session.
The U.S. dollar is advancing against the Canadian loonie for the fourth straight day as the USD/CAD pair has increased by approximately 60 pips today. The euro has surged sharply higher versus the Canadian dollar by over 150 pips and is gaining for the third straight day today against the CAD. The Australian dollar and Japanese yen have each advanced by approximately 70 pips versus the Canadian currency while the New Zealand dollar has moved higher by approximately 45 pips against the CAD.
USD/CAD 30-Minute Chart -The USD advancing today versus the Canadian dollar for the fourth consecutive day. The USD/CAD had fallen to a three month low last week at the 1.0225 exchange rate before reversing higher and today this pair touched the 1.0600 level for the first time since December 22nd.
