Retail sales in Canada declined in January, driven by a decline in trade at auto and parts stores.
Sales fell 0.6% from the previous month to C$69.36 billion after adjusting for seasonality, equivalent to about US$48.42 billion, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
The decline was more pronounced than the agency’s initial estimate of a 0.4% decline, after a 2.6% jump in retail trade in December that was revised upward.
Compared with a year earlier, retail sales in January rose 4.2%.
The agency also said that early indications showed sales fell 0.4% in February, although the figure was based on responses from 61.9% of retailers surveyed and will be revised.
