Retail sales rose 0.2% in August following a downwardly revised, 0.5% (was 0.6%) gain in July and a 0.7% (was 0.6%) drop in June.
Figures released this morning by Statistics Canada show sales at motor vehicle dealerships surprisingly dropped 0.9%, in contrast to earlier reports of solid unit vehicle sales in the month.
Excluding the auto component, sales rose a stronger 0.4%, slightly above market expectations for a 0.2% gain.
The agency also says nominal sales at gasoline stations declined 0.8%, likely in part reflecting lower prices at the pump in the month. Sales also declined at furniture (-1.6%) and electronics and appliance (-1.5%) stores; however, offset was provided by stronger sales elsewhere including a 1.2% increase at food stores, a 1.9% jump in clothing sales, and a 1.1% increase in building material store sales that may have reflected the impact of rebuilding activity in Alberta after severe floods in June.
"Today’s reported increase in retail sales volumes," according to experts at RBC Economics, "remains broadly consistent with our expectation that GDP rose at a decent 0.3% rate in August and an annualized 2.8% in Q3 as a whole."
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