(Ottawa) Retail sales in Canada fell 0.6% last September to $ 56.6 billion.
In September, sales fell in seven of eleven subsectors, which accounted for 63.5% of the country’s retail trade.
Statistics Canada explains the decline, mainly, by weaker sales of 1.6% at motor vehicle and parts dealers, due to a decline of 2.8% in sales by new car dealers. The industry is hit by global shortages of semiconductor chip supplies.
The 6.3% increase in sales by used car dealers nonetheless dampened the declines posted by new car dealers.
The largest decline in core retail sales was seen in clothing and clothing accessories stores, where sales fell 5.9% in September.
Food stores saw sales increase 1.3%. Food prices continued to rise, up 3.9% from September 2020, mainly due to higher prices for meat products.
Statistics Canada observed sales increases in all provinces in September, with the exception of Ontario, which suffered a 4.4% decline, mainly due to a sharp drop in the Toronto area.
Retail sales growth was measured at 3.5% in Nova Scotia, 2% in Quebec, 1.5% in Prince Edward Island and 0.9% in New Brunswick.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reports that retail sales grew 2.7% in the third quarter in Canada, the strongest gain since the third quarter of 2020.