Sales at Canadian retailers fell 0.2% to $66.3 billion in February, which Statistics Canada attributed primarily to lower sales at gas stations and fuel dealers and general merchandise retailers.
In addition, the federal agency said on Friday that its preliminary data for March pointed to a decline of 1.4%, although it reiterated that these figures would be revised by their official release next month.
For the month of February, retail sales fell in four of nine subsectors, with those of gas stations and fuel dealers falling 5.0% while those of general merchandise retailers fell 1.6%. .
Meanwhile, sales of motor vehicles and parts rose 0.9% in February.
Core retail sales, which exclude gas stations and motor vehicle dealers, rose 0.1%, supported by a 4.4% gain in sales of clothing, clothing accessories, footwear, jewellery, luggage and leather goods.
In volume terms, overall retail sales fell 0.7% in February.
