Prior 1.3% revised to 1.2%Retail sales ex auto – +0.1% versus 0.3% expected. Prior month revised to 1.6% from 1.7%Sales C$70.0bAdvance retail sale for January is expected at 1.5%
Details:
Retail sales fell -0.4% to $70.0B in December
3 of 9 subsectors declined, led by motor vehicle & parts dealers
Core retail sales (ex-gasoline & autos) decreased -0.3% in December
Retail sales volumes were unchanged in December
Q4 2025 retail sales rose +0.1%, marking the 7th straight quarterly increase
Q4 retail sales volumes fell -0.3%
Full-year 2025 retail sales increased +4.0%, led by motor vehicle & parts dealers
Retail sales volumes rose +2.3% in 2025
Core retail sales fell -0.3% in December, after a +1.5% increase in November
Building material & garden equipment dealers sales declined -4.0% (after two consecutive monthly gains)
Furniture, home furnishings, electronics & appliance retailers fell -1.7% (second straight monthly decline)
Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book & miscellaneous retailers rose +1.0% (largest core gain in December)
Below is the breakdown of the winners and losers in graphical format.
In other data of Canada PPI data for December
Headline PPI 2.7% versus -0.9% last monthPPI YoY 5.4% vs4.3% last monthRaw Material Prices MOM 7.7% vs 0.3% last month Raw Material Prices YoY 8.0% vs 3.5% last month
Details from the CanStat
Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) – January
IPPI rose +2.7% m/m (after -0.9% in December)
Primary non-ferrous metals surged +18.2%, leading the monthly gain
Precious metals drove the move:
Silver +40.7%
Platinum group metals +25.3%
Gold +9.9%
Industrial metals also higher:
Copper +10.3% (5th straight monthly increase)
Nickel +19.5%
Energy & petroleum products rose +1.7% (diesel +3.4%, gasoline +2.6%)
Softwood lumber +3.7% on tight supply from winter conditions & mill closures
IPPI up +5.4% y/y (16th consecutive annual increase)
Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) – January
RMPI rose +7.7% m/m
Metal ores, concentrates & scrap +15.6% (9th straight monthly gain)
Silver ores +41.8%
Gold ores +9.5%
Nickel ores +19.2%
Copper ores +10.6%
Crude energy products +4.6% (conventional +4.9%, synthetic +4.3%)
RMPI up +8.0% y/y
+25.7% y/y ex-crude energy
Annual gains led by:
Gold, silver & platinum ores +109%
Copper ores +35.4%
Cattle & calves +13%
Crude oil prices down y/y:
Conventional -22.1%
Synthetic -19.7%
There were some eye-catching moves in the metals space in January, with gold, silver, and platinum all pushing to record highs as global geopolitical uncertainty fueled safe-haven demand. Since then, gold has pulled back from its January peak near $5598, trading currently around $5026, but notably remains well above the recent corrective low of $4402. At the same time, China’s implementation of silver export restrictions on January 1 has added another layer of support to the broader precious metals complex.
Turning to USDCAD, the pair continues to trade within a defined range. On the topside, price action has remained capped below the 50% midpoint of the move down from the 2026 high at 1.37045. Buyers made an attempt to break above that level yesterday, but the move ultimately stalled. On the downside, the rising 100-hour moving average at 1.36654 is acting as near-term support. A sustained move below this level would be needed to strengthen the bearish bias.
For now, the pair remains caught in a tug-of-war between resistance at the midpoint and support at the rising 100-hour MA — with the next directional push likely to be determined by which side gives way first.
This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.