Canada's retail sales down 0.1% to $61.8B in November

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) — Canada's retail sales fell 0.1% to $61.8 billion in November, the country's statistical authority said Friday.

Despite the decline, the figure came better than the market expectations of a 0.5% monthly decrease.

The gain for October was revised down by 0.1 percentage point to 1.3% from 1.4%.

Retail sales were down in six out of 11 subsectors, representing 47.4% of retail trade, Statistics Canada said in a statement.

The decrease was led by lower sales at food and beverage stores that fell 1.6%, and building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers, which decreased 3.8%.

Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, decreased 1.1% — the largest decline in 11 months.