(OTTAWA) Canadian retail sales rose 1.4% to 66.4 billion in January, supported by gains at motor vehicle and parts dealers and gas stations, Statistics Canada said Friday.
This result was higher than the federal agency’s initial estimate for the first month of the year. She suggested last month that sales may have risen 0.7% in January.
Statistics Canada now calculates, on a preliminary basis, that sales fell by 0.6% in February, while recalling that these data will be revised by their official release next month.
In January, motor vehicle and parts dealers saw sales rise 3.0% on stronger sales of new vehicles, which also rose 3.0%. Meanwhile, sales at service stations and fuel merchants rose 2.9%. Sales volumes fell, but fuel prices rose.
Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and car dealerships, rose 0.5% in January.
In volume terms, January sales rose 1.5%, Statistics Canada said.
