Data on Friday showed Canadian retail sales rose 0.7% in April as expected, bucking a downward trend over the past three months, with sales at the pump boosting the overall figure. Statistics Canada said retail sales, which includes cars, clothing, furniture, food and beverages and more, rose to C$66.8 billion ($48.78 billion) monthly. In terms of sales, overall sales grew 0.5% in April.Statscan, which polled just half of the respondents, initially estimated retail sales could fall 0.6% in May. In addition to petrol pump sales, which rose 4.5% for the first time this year, sales at food and drink retailers also rose 1.9%, the data showed. Petrol pumps and food and beverage retailers accounted for 10% and 19% of total retail sales respectively.Since the start of the year, Canada’s retail sector has been reeling from the highest interest rates in more than two decades, which has dented consumer spending. But economists had predicted sales would rebound in April due to higher gasoline and diesel prices, although consumer pressure remains. The Bank of Canada cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.75% for the first time in four years on June 5, and money markets raised expectations for another rate cut in July to about 73% from 71% before the release of retail sales data.Economists say Canadian consumer prices continue to slow, and consumer price index (CPI) data due next week will provide clarity on whether the expected drop in retail sales in May is due to lower sales or lower prices. Core retail sales, which exclude sales at gasoline pumps and motor vehicle and parts dealers, rose 1.4% in April. Sales grew in seven of nine subsectors. The biggest sales declines were at auto and parts dealers, where sales fell 2.2% in April. Statscan data shows this sub-sector is the largest contributor, accounting for more than a quarter of total retail sales.

 UK house prices rose for a second month in a row in April, rising by an annual average of 1.1% to 281,000 pounds ($358,000), the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday, after rising 0.9% in March. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) private sector rents measure grew by 8.7% in the year to May, slightly slower than growth in the 12 months to April when it rose by 8.9%.The UK housing market has shown signs of recovery in recent months from a slowdown spurred by a surge in mortgage rates in late 2022 and 2023. But falling consumer price inflation has boosted household incomes and raised prospects for interest rate cuts. Official data released earlier on Wednesday showed that UK consumer price inflation returned to the Bank of England’s 2% target for the first time in nearly three years.

 Prices of new homes in China fell at their fastest pace in more than 9-1/2 years in May, official data showed on Monday, as the property sector struggled to find a bottom despite government efforts to curb oversupply and support debt-laden developers. According to calculations based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), prices fell by 0.7% month-on-month in May. This was the 11th consecutive month-on-month decline and the largest decline since October 2014. On an annual basis, new house prices fell 3.9% on the year, compared with a 3.1% decline in April.China’s debt-laden real estate industry, once a key engine of China’s economic growth, has been hit by multiple crises since mid-2021, including debt defaults by developers and stalled construction of pre-sale housing projects. Authorities have stepped up support for the crisis-hit real estate sector, including providing 300 billion yuan ($41.35 billion) in funding to clear massive housing inventories, reducing payments and easing mortgage rules. However, analysts believe that these measures will have little effect on digesting the large housing inventory, and the lifting of purchase restrictions in large cities may further suppress purchasing sentiment in small and medium-sized cities. Last month, new house prices fell in almost all of the 70 cities surveyed by the Office for National Statistics.Separately, official data on Monday also showed that real estate investment fell by 10.1% annually in the first five months of this year, following a 9.8% decline from January to April. Home sales fell faster from January to May. Nie Wen, an economist at Shanghai Huabao Trust, said China’s real estate market will diverge, with new home sales in big cities driven by those who have the ability to renovate and sell existing homes, while real estate in smaller cities is expected to diverge. continued decline due to overpopulation and outmigration. Policymakers are expected to support local governments and state-owned enterprises in purchasing unsold low-rent housing through subsidized loans, while lowering interest rates and fees to support property owners in improving their homes, Nie said.