OTTAWA, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Canadian retail sales decreased by 0.4% in December to C$70 billion ($51.14 billion) on a monthly basis, led by a drop in sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
Sales were down in three of the nine subsectors with the building materials category and furniture, electronics and appliances retailers category also reporting a drop in sales. Sales at fuel pumps helped offset some of the fall, StatsCan said.
In volume terms, retail sales were unchanged in December.
Retail sales, which include domestic sales of cars, furniture, food and gasoline, are considered an early indicator of gross domestic product growth and contribute around 40% to total consumer spending.
($1 = 1.3687 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Dale SmithEditing by Nick Zieminski)
Comments