By CountingPips.com
Economic news out of Canada today showed that retail sales increased unexpectedly and higher energy costs pushed consumer prices higher, according to separate data releases by Statistics Canada. Canadian retail sales increased by 0.5 percent to a C$36.1 billion total in August after a revised increase of 0.1 percent in July.
The rise in retail sales was 
more than expected as economic forecasts were predicting a 0.1 percent decrease for the month. On an annual basis, August’s retail sales level was 3.5 percent higher than the August 2009 level.
Core retail sales, excluding automobile sales, climbed by 0.4 percent in August following a revised decline of 0.2 percent in July. The rise in core sales just missed the economic forecasts that were expecting a 0.5 percent increase for the month.
Contributing to the gain in the retail sales numbers was an increase in furniture and home furnishing stores by 2.1 percent in August. Also contributing positively to the report were notable gains in gasoline stations (+2.1%), food and beverage stores (+0.8%) and motor vehicle and parts dealers (+0.7%).
Canadian Consumer Prices rise in September
Consumer prices in the Canada increased in September, according to a separate report released today by Statistics Canada. The Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, rose by 0.2 percent in September after decreasing by 0.1 percent in August.
On an annual basis, consumer prices registered a 1.9 percent increase over the September 2009 level following a 1.7 percent annual increase in August. September’s data matched economic forecasts that were expecting a 0.2 percent monthly increase and a 1.9 percent annual advancement.
Rising energy prices contributed significantly to the higher cpi levels in September. Gasoline prices increased by 5.6 percent on an annual basis through September following a 5.0 percent increase in August on an annual basis.
Consumer prices, excluding energy prices, increased by 0.2 percent in September and by 1.5 percent on an annual basis following a 1.6 percent gain in August.
The Bank of Canada’s core index, released in the report, showed that core consumer prices rose by 1.5 percent on an annual basis in September compared with an annual rise of 1.6 percent in August. On a monthly basis, the BOC core index saw prices rise by 0.1 percent from January to February.
Canadian Loonie mixed in Forex Trading
The Canadian loonie dollar has been mixed today in the currency markets versus most of the major currencies after the retail sales and inflation data. The Canadian currency has increased versus the Japanese yen, New Zealand kiwi and the British pound while trading relatively unchanged or slightly lower versus the euro, U.S. dollar and Australian dollar, according to currency data from Oanda.
