08:13 AM EDT, 08/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Investors will get Canada's June retail sales at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).

The bank noted that spending continues to sag, with June's expected contraction marking the fifth in the past six months. BMO is looking for a 0.5% m/m decline in headline sales, weaker than Statistics Canada's preliminary estimate of a 0.3% m/m slip.

A combination of lower gasoline prices and softer autos (as a cyberattack affected some Canadian dealerships) will weigh, pointed out the bank. More broadly, lower goods prices suggest volumes could be a touch firmer than the headline.

Still, the softness in consumer spending -- especially when compared with a surging population -- highlights the underlying weakness in the economy, reinforcing the need for continued cuts from the Bank of Canada (BoC), added BMO.