Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian retail sales fell by 0.2 per cent in October from September to $69.44 billion, on lower sales at food and beverage retailers, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
In October, sales were down in four of the nine subsectors, representing 41.6 per cent of retail sales. In volume terms, retail sales decreased 0.6 per cent in October.
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 per cent to total consumer spending.
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Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, were down 0.5 per cent in October.
The largest decrease to core retail sales came from food and beverage retailers, with beer, wine and liquor retailers contributing the most to the decline.
Sales were also down in the clothing and clothing accessories sector and at health and personal care retailers in October, StatsCan said.
Motor vehicle and parts dealers’ sales were up 0.6 per cent, recording the largest increase in retail sales in October. This was mainly led by sales of new cars.
Sales were likely up 1.2 per cent in November, the agency said in a flash estimate.
— Reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Dale Smith
