1125 ET - Canadian spending looks to be holding up better than consumer confidence so far, though escalating trade worries and the potential for another round of significant U.S. tariff increases in April could mount pressure on retail sales in the months ahead, Royal Bank of Canada's Rachel Battaglia and Abbey Xu say. The Conference Board of Canada's index of consumer confidence fell 32% from January to March as the U.S.-Canada trade conflict intensified. Royal Bank's tracking of card transactions shows a 0.2% fall in spending on retail goods in February, broadly in line with Statistics Canada's estimate retail sales fell 0.4% on-month. The economists note spending on discretionary goods fell, but was little changed on discretionary services and essentials. (robb.stewart@wsj.com; @RobbMStewart)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 26, 2025 11:26 ET (15:26 GMT)
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