Canadian factory sales most likely rose 1.2% in April from March, largely driven by higher sales in the transportation equipment subsector, Statistics Canada said in a flash estimate on Friday.

Early signs show consumers in Canada were spending again last month, snapping a run of sluggish retail sales through the first quarter.

Retail sales contracted sharply over the past month, signalling that the UK economy is being held back by weak consumer spending as the general election campaign enters its early stages. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales volumes contracted by 2.