Retail spending in Canada increased 1.1% in September despite expectations for a 0.4% increase. In addition, retail sales excluding the volatile automotive component increased 0.8%, which beat estimates for a 0.2% gain. The breakdown of the report showed that five of the eight categories increased during the month, but the improvement could be short-lived as the Bank of Canada expects economic activity to weaken throughout the next year. Mounting growth fears led the BoC to lower the benchmark interest rate by 75bp to 2.25% from 3.00%, and may continue to ease policy further as growth prospects deteriorate.