08:04 AM EST, 01/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Bank of Montreal (BMO) noted that Canada will release retail sales for November as well as the estimates for December at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.

Retail sales are expected to rise 0.4% month over month in November, according to the bank. This is stronger than Statistics Canada's flash estimate, which was for no change.

Higher gasoline prices and auto sales likely supported the headline figure, noted BMO. The bank estimates that the uptick in goods prices suggests sales volumes will be softer than the headline following four months of growth.

BMO will watch the early estimate for December, as it should get a lift from the GST/HST holiday, which kicked in mid-month.

The Canadian dollar (CAD or loonie) at $1.439) was "weak" early Thursday, pointed out the bank, adding that over the past 12 months, the CAD has dropped 6.5%.