Wholesale trade data for February:
– Wholesale sales ex autos had largest drop since Dec 2008
– Prior was 0.0%
– Inventories +0.2% vs +0.5% prior
It’s a lower-level report because it lags so badly but it’s important for GDP. In yesterday’s BOC testimony (Day 2 is today), Poloz warned that strength early in the year was skewed by inventories, autos and other temporary factors. The payback may be coming sooner than expected.
