Canadian auto sales improve in May after three consecutive months of flat-to-negative seasonally adjusted sales growth. Wards Automotive estimates that sales increased 2.8% (sa) to the pace of 1.64 mn (saar) units in May 2023. While auto sales are up 3.7% year-to-date (nsa) compared to 2022, they are falling behind the pre-pandemic pace, now -18.5% ytd (nsa) relative to 2019. Sticky core inflation, along with still-tight labour markets, and activity in the housing market picking up pose headwinds to the Bank of Canada easing their monetary policy stance in the short-term. The upward trend in North American light ... (full story)