Canadian retail sales rose well above expectations: 2.1% y/y in the headline number and 1.2% in core sales. This was more than enough to beat a miss in inflation figures.
USD/CAD dropped to a new low of 1.2938 before bouncing a bit.
The bounce in retail sales was certainly good news after drops of 2.1% and 1.7% in sales back in January according to the revised data. It was also well above 0.6% and 0.4% forecast.
Prices in Canada didn’t go too far, perhaps the impact of the rebounding Canadian dollar. CPI advanced by 0.5% m/m as expected, but core CPI rose only 0.2%, half the estimations. Year over year, CPI rose 1.4%, worse than 1.5% predicted and core prices are now up only 1.9%, down from 2% expected and seen last time.
Canada was expected to report a rise of 1.5% y/y in headline CPI and 2% in core inflation for the month of February. Retail sales carried expectations for a bounce, with 0.6% in headline sales and 0.4% in core sales after big falls last time.
USD/CAD resumed its slide towards the release, with a drop under 1.30. This went hand in hand with a resumption of the rise in oil prices. WTI broke to new highs, closer to $41.
The Canadian dollar enjoyed the extremely dovish rate decision by the Fed to rise against the greenback. However, it seemed to lose some steam on the way: after breaking 1.30, oil prices continued rising but the C$ could not keep up.
Nevertheless, USD/CAD is 1800 pips below the highs seen in mid January.
Here is how the move looks on the USD/CAD 30 minute chart: