OTTAWA--Canadian retail sales are tracking for a rebound in August after a broad retreat in spending the month before led to the first pullback in retail trade this year.

An advance estimate by Statistics Canada indicates sales rose 1.3% last month, which given goods prices were largely unchanged hints at an increase in trade volumes as well.

It comes after sales in July declined 0.7% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted 73.7 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of about US$52.25 billion, data released Thursday showed. That was the first retreat for retailers since December. In volume terms, sales were down an even sharper 1.1% for the month, indicating Canadians bought less overall.

Resilient household spending has helped underpin a recovery for Canada's economy following weakness late last year. Economists say the volatility in retail outlays toward the end of the summer could be a wobble and a reflection of some temporary factors, or a sign momentum is fading as consumers and businesses react to fresh tariffs and high fuel costs.

"While the third quarter is showing an acceleration, we doubt the momentum can last given renewed trade tensions that are set to cause the unemployment rate to rise, while elevated gasoline prices will also eat into discretionary spending power in the near term," Katherine Judge, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets, said.

Based on the latest data, Judge estimated retail sales volumes are heading for roughly 4% annualized growth this quarter following a modest rise of 0.4% the quarter before, which she said was helped by a strong end to the second quarter thanks to the soccer World Cup and federal government stimulus checks.

Statistics Canada offered no detail with its August forecast. Still, analysis of cardholder activity by Royal Bank of Canada, the country's largest lender, showed that consumer spending remained positive last month as money spent on discretionary services was bolstered by an improvement in discretionary goods spending. Spending by the bank's customers was up 1.1% between July and August, and rose 0.6% on a three-month average.

Statistics Canada's retail survey for July showed weakness beyond volatile areas like gasoline, with sales down in eight of the nine industry segments it tracks. The fall was led by general merchandise, which some economists said may reflect a retreat after a boost the month before from the World Cup. There also was a drop in e-commerce sales for the month, which could be due to Amazon's Amazon Prime day sales landing in June rather than July this year, research by Capital Economics said.

Core retail sales, which excludes gas stations as well as vehicle and parts dealers, were 0.7% lower for the month.

Canada's central bank has made clear that despite leaving interest rates steady this year it is grappling with inflation risk that has intensified as the war in the Middle East has continued along with a return of trade uncertainty. In a speech this week, Bank of Canada Gov. Tiff Macklem said officials are prepared to adjust rates depending on how those threats evolve but is cautious of moving either unnecessarily or too slowly.

Canada's economy grew strongly in the second quarter of the year, though early data has pointed to a flattening of activity in July. After several months of strong job gains, employment in August declined, which some economists say could be the start of a rocky patch after a souring of trade relations between Ottawa and Washington reignited uncertainty.

"Heading into the fall spending season, the question is whether July was simply a pause after a strong June or an early warning sign of a more cautious Canadian consumer," said Jasleen Trehan, economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.