Canada: Retail sales rose 0.4% in July vs. 0.6% expected

• Retail sales in Canada rose less than expected in July.
• US/CAD spiked toward the 1.33 handle on disappointing reading.

According to the monthly data published by Statistics Canada, retail sales in Canada rose 0.4% on a monthly basis in July to $51.5 billion following June's contraction of 0.1% (revised from 0%) and fell short of the market expectation of 0.6%. Excluding cars, sales declined 0.1% in the same period.

With the initial reaction, the CAD weakened against its major rivals and the USD/CAD spiked higher toward the 1.33 mark.