(OTTAWA) Retail sales fell 0.1% to $61.8 billion in Canada last November, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.
A decrease of 0.5% was observed in Quebec; in the Montreal area, the decline was 1.6%.
The decline at the Canadian level was primarily due to a 1.6% decline in sales at grocery stores and a 3.8% decline at building materials and gardening supplies retailers.
Statistics Canada reports that core retail sales, which exclude sales to service stations and auto and parts dealers, fell 1.1% two months ago, the biggest drop in 11 months.
The federal agency added that sales at auto and parts dealerships rose 1.4% in November, with the largest increase coming from new car dealerships.
Seasonally adjusted e-commerce retail sales fell 2.7% in November.
A flash estimate of retail sales suggests to Statistics Canada that they rose 0.5% in December, but due to the preliminary nature of this figure it is being revised.
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