Retail sales in Canada were flat in November from October, right in line with the expected unchanged reading. In volume terms, sales fell 0.4 percent on the month. Sales were up 1.6 percent year-over-year.

The advance estimate for December sales suggests a remarkable increase of 1.6 percent from November.

Sales fell in six of nine subsectors in November from October. The biggest movers: a 1.6 percent decline in sales at food and beverage retailers, which was largely offset by an increase of 2.0 percent at motor vehicles and parts and fuel vendors, up 0.7 percent.

Core retail sales, which omit gasoline and motor vehicles, fell by 1.0 percent in November from October, not a pretty picture. Core sales rose a muted 0.8 percent from a year ago.

The decline in core sales, its largest in six months, reflected the 1.6 percent fall in food and beverage sales and a 1.0 percent decrease in sales of general merchandise. There was also a decline of 2.1 percent in sales by building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers in November from October.

Forecasters agree with the StatsCan estimate looking for an unchanged reading on the month. Auto sales were up strongly along with gas station sales, reflecting higher prices, but those pluses were offset by weakness in core retail sales.

Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The headline data are reported in cash terms and disaggregated into eleven main subsectors. Aggregate volume figures are also provided.

With consumer spending a large part of the economy, market players continually monitor spending patterns. Data are available both for total retail sales and those excluding autos and for 16 different store specializations. Since autos account for over 25 percent of retail sales, the sector can have a pronounced impact on overall sales given their volatility. Retail sales are used to estimate the goods portion of personal consumer expenditures in the quarterly GDP accounts, accounting for about 50 percent of the total.

The pattern in consumer spending is often the foremost influence on stock and bond markets. For stocks, strong economic growth translates to healthy corporate profits and higher stock prices. For bonds, the focus is whether economic growth goes overboard and leads to inflation. Ideally, the economy walks that fine line between strong growth and excessive (inflationary) growth.

Retail sales not only give you a sense of the big picture, but also the trends among different types of retailers. Perhaps apparel sales are showing exceptional weakness but electronics sales are soaring. These trends from the retail sales data can help you spot specific investment opportunities, without having to wait for a company's quarterly or annual report.