Canadian consumers definitely did their part in June, as shown by retail sales data released yesterday by Statistics Canada. Excluding the volatile automobile sector, retail sales increased by 0.7%, which greatly outstripped the expectations of the analysts polled. On a provincial level, Quebec is in the middle of the pack, while British Columbia and Alberta posted impressive annualized gains of 12.4% and 10.5%, respectively. All in all, Canadian consumers are currently driving the economy, which is being sustained by a strong job market, reasonably priced credit and a wealth effect associated with the real estate market. This performance should support gross domestic product (GDP) growth of close to 4% for the second quarter.
This morning, the Canadian dollar is relatively stable despite comments from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement. In short, future discussions will most likely be rougher. The New Zealand dollar is in a nosedive this morning after finance ministry estimates for GDP growth were cut.
Mark Donohue
Range of the day : 1.2520 – 1.2640