Canada: Retail Sales rose by 0.3% in February vs. 0.2% expected

• Retail Sales in Canada rose more than expected in February.
• USD/CAD continues to trade in positive territory above 1.42.

Retail Sales in Canada increased by 0.3% in February to $52.2 billion, the data published by Statistics Canada revealed on Tuesday. This reading came in slightly better than the market expectation of +0.2%.

"For the month of February, rail blockades and the onset of COVID-19 in Canada affected total seasonally adjusted retail sales by a negligible amount," the press release read. "Approximately 25% of Canadian retailers reported that their business activities in February had been affected by the rail blockades and/or COVID-19."

Market reaction

The USD/CAD pair largely ignored this data and was last seen trading at 1.4225, adding 0.57% on a daily basis.