Retail sales rose 0.9 percent to $72.7 billion in March as higher gas prices boosted overall sales for the month, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
Sales at gas stations and fuel vendors rose 12.4 percent as the attack on Iran by the U.S. and Israel drove oil and gas prices higher, the agency said. In volume terms, sales for the subsector fell 1.9 percent for the month.
“The war-driven price shock is leaving a mark on Canadian consumers, who have otherwise held in there against elevated economic uncertainty and outright population declines,” said BMO senior economist Shelly Kaushik in a note to clients.
She said the StatCan report suggests consumer spending will remain under pressure until energy prices normalize….