MNI DATA BRIEF: Canada Wholesales, Starts Show Resilience

Canadian wholesale sales rose to a third straight record high in May, while revisions also highlighted unexpected resilience in the housing market, government figures published Friday showed, in line with the central bank's view the economy is in a solid recovery.

Wholesale sales rose 0.5% to CAD72.2 billion, Statistics Canada reported, though that was less than its earlier flash estimate of 1.1%, in part because of a strike at the Port of Montreal. The increase was broad-based covering industries making up 72% of the industry. Sales have gained in 11 of the last 13 months and are now 11% greater than before the pandemic.

The federal agency also boosted its estimated annualized pace of May housing starts to 286,296 units from an earlier 275,916 reading. While starts fell 1.5% in June to 282,070, the revision left the pace faster than the economist consensus of 273,000 units. Industry sources have also told MNI they see the economy showing resilience after some lockdown-related weakness earlier this year.