Canada retail sales dropped -1.8% mom to CAD 57.0B in December, better than expectation of -2.1%. Sales were down in 8 of 11 subsectors, representing 62.9% of retail trade. Excluding gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts, sales dropped -2.4% mom.
For Q4, retail sales were up 1.7%, marking its second consecutive quarterly increase.
Advance estimate suggests sales rose 2.4% in January.
