"So now we know why the BOC considered easing. Economic growth in the third quarter doesn't look as good as expected, inflation is below target and it's unclear where an acceleration would come from".
- Greg Anderson, Bank of Montreal
Canadian wholesale sales rose in August for a fifth consecutive month, fresh figures showed on Monday. According to Statistics Canada, the value of Canadian wholesale trade increased 0.8% month-over-month in August, compared to the preceding month's downwardly revised gain of just 0.1%, while market analysts anticipated a slight acceleration to 0.2% during the reported period. Sales advanced in five out of the seven subsectors, accounting for 80% of the wholesale trade total level. Sales in the miscellaneous subsector grew 3.9% on higher sales of agricultural supplies, which increased 11.8% in the eight month of the year due to higher exports of the wide variety of chemical products used in agriculture, such as pesticides and fertilizers. Furthermore, sales of machinery, equipment and supplies jumped 1.3% in August, driven by larger shipments of farm, lawn and garden equipment. Overall, wholesale sales rose in eight out of the ten regions. Sales also grew in energy-producing Alberta that was severely hit by wildfires in May, which forced a drastic cut to oil sands production. After the release, the Canadian Dollar rose slightly against other major currencies, trading at 1.3348 against its US counterpart, 1.4544 against the Euro, 1.0175 against the Aussie and 77.88 against the Japanese Yen.
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