Retail Sales in Canada Rebound in October in Sign of Resilience

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian retail sales rebounded in October after slipping a month earlier, a sign of robust consumer spending.

Retailers sold 1.0% more goods in October, according to preliminary estimates released Friday by Statistics Canada. That more than offset a 0.6% drop in September, a month hampered by supply chain bottlenecks. The decline in September was smaller than the 1.9% contraction initially estimated by the statistics agency last month.

The data may bolster confidence the economy is adapting to global supply chain issues, finding ways to get around shipping port closures and micro chip shortages. Economists expect it will take several months for the global supply chain disruptions to ease.

For the third quarter, retail sales rose 2.7%, the biggest quarterly increase in a year. Excluding price gains, quarterly sales were up 1.5%.

Auto sales and parts fell in September due to chip shortages. Sales were down in seven of 11 categories that month. 

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