Business News

Retail sales in Canada fall in December as COVID cuts bite Reuters

[ad_1]

2/2
© Reuters. PHOTO PHOTO: A shopkeeper leaves the store with multiple shopping bags in the second phase of the reopening of coronary heart disease (COVID-19) at Sherway Gardens Mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on June 30, 2021. REUTERS / Alex Filipe / Photo File

2/2

Author: David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Retail sales in Canada were likely to fall 2.1% in December as authorities imposed restrictions on the Omicron variant of coronavirus and challenged retailers, Statistics Canada announced on Friday.

Statscan also reported that retail sales rose 0.7% in November, which was lower than the 1.2% profit forecast by analysts.

The December flash estimate is based on the responses of 50.6% of the companies surveyed. The average response rate is 90.0%.

Statscan also said some buyers decided to bring their purchases forward to November to avoid shortages caused by endemic supply chain problems.

Andrew Grantham, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets, said the fall in December was slightly higher than expected.

“Brick retailers will likely continue to struggle in January due to Omicron-related restrictions and staff shortages,” it said in a statement.

This weakness, he suggested, could “tip the balance slightly” to keep the Bank of Canada firm when it announces the rate on January 26th. Money markets see a 70% chance that the central bank will lift its key. night rate is the current record of 0.25%. {BOCwatch]

The bank had previously said it could raise rates in April.

Stephen Brown, Canada’s senior economist at Capital Economics, said the December decline in sales was likely to be more than 2.1%, given the rapid expansion of Omicron that month.

November’s profit was driven by large sales at gas stations and sales of building materials and gardening equipment and supplies.

Sales rose in six of the 11 sub-sectors, accounting for 63.8% of retail trade. In terms of volume, retail sales rose by 0.2%.

The Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% lower at 1.2520 with the green card, or 79.87 cents in the US.

Note: Fusion Media Please note that the data contained on this website is not necessarily real-time or accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indices, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges, but by creative markets, so they may not be accurate and different from actual market prices, which are indicative prices and not suitable for trading purposes. Therefore, Fusion Media assumes no responsibility for any commercial losses you may suffer as a result of your use of this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not be held liable for any loss or damage as a result of relying on the information contained in the data, estimates, charts and buy / sell signals contained in this website. Please be informed that one of the most risky forms of investment possible is the full information on the risks and costs associated with trading in the financial markets.

[ad_2]

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button