Canadian Retail Sales - June 21, 2012
BCREA
ECONOMICS NOW
Canadian
Retail Sales - June 21, 2012
Canadian retail sales declined 0.5 per
cent in April, offsetting a similar increase in March. Weakness in the
retail sector was broad-based with 8 out of 11 retail sectors recording
declines. April was a particularly difficult month for new car dealers and
clothing retailers which saw declines of 1.4 per cent and 2.8 per cent
respectively. The retail sector in BC also had a disappointing month in
April. Provincial retail sales fell 0.2 per cent while year-over-year sales
growth decelerated to a modest 2.3 per cent.
With two full months of economic data now reported for the second quarter, we
have revised our Q2 tracking estimate of Canadian GDP lower to 2.4 per cent
following first quarter real GDP growth of just 1.9 per cent.