Canada retail sales dropped for the first time in three months, by -0.1% mom to CAD 51.6B in September. Though, that was better than expectation of -0.3% mom fall. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.2% mom, above expectation of -0.1% mom.
Retail sales were down in Alberta (-1.6%) and New Brunswick (-3.7%). In Quebec, retail sales increased 0.7%. In the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Montréal, sales were up 0.6%. Retail sales in Ontario (+0.3%) continued their upward trend, increasing for the seventh time in eight months. In the CMA of Toronto, retail sales were up 1.5%.