Canada’s retail sales rose for a fourth consecutive month in October, the longest growth streak since 2022.
A preliminary estimate from Statistics Canada suggests that retail sales rose 0.7% in October, the strongest pace of growth since July and above the 0.4% gain recorded in September.
September’s increase brings the third-quarter retail sales advance to 0.9%. That’s a sharp turnaround from the first half of 2024 when retail sales posted their biggest contraction since 2009.
Analysts say that retail sales in Canada are getting a boost as interest rates across the country are lowered.
Since June, the Bank of Canada has reduced interest rates by 1.25%, and another interest rate cut is expected at the central bank’s final policy meeting of the year in December.
Canada’s federal government recently announced plans to waive the federal sales tax on a range of items heading into Christmas, including food, alcohol, and toys, which is expected to further boost consumer spending in the near term.
In September, sales rose in six of nine retail subsectors, led by increases at food retailers and building material suppliers.
The largest decrease in sales was recorded at gas stations, which posted a fifth straight monthly decline. That was largely driven by lower gas prices. Sales at car dealers were also down.
Core retail sales, which exclude gas stations and car dealers, surged 1.4% in September.
Across Canada, retail sales increased in five of 10 provinces during September, with Alberta seeing the largest gain at 2.3%, led by higher sales at car dealers.
