Canadian retail sales rebounded in March as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted across the country.
Retail sales rose 1.4% last month, according to Statistics Canada. That’s up from a 0.1% increase in February when most jurisdictions still had COVID-19 restrictions in place.
The latest retail sales numbers strengthen the view that Canada’s economy was resilient at the start of this year in the face of COVID-19 restrictions meant to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of the respiratory disease.
However, despite March’s strong showing, red hot inflation adds a potential headwind to consumer spending as household’s pullback on some purchases.
Statistics Canada didn’t say how much of the March retail sales was driven by higher prices. Sales volumes were reported to have fallen in February.
The Canadian dollar pared losses after the latest retail sales numbers were reported last Friday (April 22), trading 0.6% lower at $1.266 per U.S. dollar in Toronto.
