Core Retail Sales m/m (CAD) comes in at 1.2% against 0.3% consensus

Canada’s Core Retail Sales m/m registered a significant increase, coming in at 1.2%. This figure substantially exceeded the consensus expectation of 0.3%. The actual print also marked a strong improvement from the previous month’s figure of 0.1%. The surprise against consensus was 300.0%, indicating a much stronger performance than analysts had predicted.

Following the release, the Canadian dollar saw varied reactions across major pairs after 15 minutes. USDCAD moved up 6.1 pips, while NZDCAD moved down 6.8 pips and AUDCAD moved down 6.2 pips. CADJPY gained 4.5 pips. EURCAD and GBPCAD saw smaller moves of -1.7 pips and -1.5 pips respectively. CADCHF moved -0.2 pips. Compared to historical median 1-hour moves, which range from 8 pips for CADCHF to 18 pips for GBPCAD, these initial 15-minute reactions appear relatively modest for most pairs. For instance, USDCAD’s 6.1 pips move is less than its median 1-hour move of 12 pips, and NZDCAD’s 6.8 pips move is less than its median 1-hour move of 9 pips.