Canadian Retail Sales - July 23, 2015

Canadian retail sales rose 1 per cent in May, the third increase in the past four months. Strength in retail sales was broad based with rising sales in 9 of 11 retail subsectors.  In BC, retail sales were also up 1 per cent on a monthly basis and were up 8.3 per cent compared to May 2014. 

Solid consumer spending could help push May's GDP report into positive territory, though growth in the Canadian economy is still tracking at negative 0.6 per cent for the second quarter. In BC, however, economic growth is tracking at a healthy rate of 2.5 per cent.