Data released by the Canadian Statistics Office today, Thursday, revealed a variation in retail sales data in the country during the past December, where the retail sales index in Canada recorded a growth of 0.9% on a monthly basis, which is better than market expectations that predicted the index to grow by only 0.8%. The previous reading of the index recorded a contraction of 0.2% during last November, which was revised to record stability at zero levels instead of contraction.

During the same period, the core retail sales index (excluding car sales) recorded a contraction of 0.6% during December, a negative reading, which was contrary to market expectations that indicated a growth of only 0.7%. The previous reading recorded a contraction of about 0.5% during last November, which was revised to record a contraction of only 0.4%.

It is noteworthy that this index measures the change in the total value of inflation-adjusted sales at the retail level. Also, this index is a measure of the value of goods sold by retailers based on a sample of retail stores of various types and sizes, and the data includes all sales conducted through the internet.