Consumer confidence, except in Quebec
The Canadian economy has shown signs of life yesterday as different were reports of rising consumer confidence and retail sales in recent months, however, that camouflage signs of weakness.
Retail sales rose 0.5% to $ 38.9 billion in January, the fifth hncrease in six months, said Statistics Canada. Excluding sales of motor vehicles and parts, retail sales were down 0.5%, however, said the federal agency.
For its part, the Conference Board of Canada reported that consumer confidence had continued to improve in March, representing a third consecutive monthly increase.
The consumer confidence index was up 4.3 points to 79.5.
The research group has warned that consumer confidence remained fragile, the increase detected in March that resulted from a single factor - consumer attitudes in relation to major purchases.
Decline in Quebec
Four of the five regions have witnessed an improvement in consumer confidence. Quebec is the only one to have declined, due to concerns related to finances and job creation.
Statistics Canada today to unveil its latest inflation data. Economists expect that average prices were up 2.7% in February, and a core inflation up 2.2%.
Benjamin Reitzes, senior economist at RBC Capital Markets, noted that data on retail sales in January, combined with other weak data on wholesale trade and manufacturing, gave the impression that the economy could shrink slightly at the beginning of the year. He estimated that the economy fell 0.1%, or simply has no growth.