Retail sales slowed in November: StatCan
BNN Bloomberg
Canadian consumers likely slowed down their spending in November after splurging the previous month, as high interest rates restrict household budgets.
Receipts for retailers were flat last month, according to an advance estimate from Statistics Canada released Thursday. That followed a 0.7 per cent increase a month earlier, slightly below a median estimate of 0.8 per cent in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Still, retailers had a strong month in October with sales up in seven of nine subsectors, led by a 1.1 per cent gain at car and parts dealers. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.6 per cent, versus expectations for an increase of 0.5 per cent. In volume terms, retail sales grew 1.4 per cent.
Sales at general merchandise retailers were the next-highest upside contributor to retail sales in October with a two per cent gain, while health and personal care sales were up 1.5 per cent and clothing sales rose 2.4 per cent. On the downside, sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors decreased 3.1 per cent.
