Statistics Canada says wholesale sales fall 0.5 per cent in December

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales fell 0.5 per cent to $63 billion in December, the first decrease in three months.

Economists had expected an increase of 0.4 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

Sales fell in five of the seven subsectors tracked, representing 65 per cent of total wholesale sales.

Statistics Canada says the personal and household goods subsector saw the largest decline in dollar terms for the month as it fell 3.3 per cent to $8.5 billion.

Sales in the miscellaneous subsector fell 2.4 per cent to $7.9 billion.

Meanwhile, machinery, equipment and supplies sales grew 2.3 per cent to $12.7 billion, while the building material and supplies group increased 2.7 per cent to $9.3 billion.