The Canadian economy is slowing again in autumn, after the rebound we saw from May until late summer. But it started to slow in September and October, as the recent data has shown. Although, the retail sales held up well that month, increasing by 1.1%, while core sales increased by 1.0%. But, just like in the UK, this might be the last positive retail sales report for some time, as restrictions increase.

Canada September 2020 retail sales report highlights:

• September retail sales +1.1% m/m vs +0.2% expected
• Fifth consecutive increase
• August sales were +0.4%
• Retail sales ex autos MoM +1.0% vs 0.0% expected
• Prior ex autos +0.5% MoM
• Sales up in 9 of 11 subsectors
• Sales up 22.6% compared to Q2
• Prelim October data suggests sales were largely unchanged
• E-commerce sales up 74.3% YoY