Canada. Retail Sales rise

Retail sales in current dollars rose in June, increasing 1.0% to $34.4 billion. Most of the gain was driven by higher prices, especially for gasoline, as retail sales in volume terms increased 0.4%.

Retail sales have risen in five of the last six months, following large drops at the end of 2008.

Sales up for most store types

Sales rose in six of eight retail trade sectors in June. The automotive sector was the largest contributor to overall growth, with a 2.1% sales gain. A 4.7% rise in sales at gasoline stations was the main contributor to June's increase in the automotive sector. Higher gas prices drove this advance.

In the rest of the automotive sector, sales rose 2.2% at used and recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers. This second consecutive monthly increase followed six months of decreases, and was partly due to higher sales at parts dealers. Sales at new car dealers increased 0.4% in June after a strong gain in May.

Food and beverage stores saw sales increase 1.3% after being fairly flat in May. Most of the advance can be attributed to a 1.2% rise in sales at supermarkets, which completely offset the declines registered in the previous two months. The increase at beer, wine and liquor stores (+1.9%) was the seventh in nine months.

Sales at furniture, home furnishings and electronics stores increased in June for the second consecutive month with a 0.6% gain. This followed a downward trend that started in the middle of 2008. Strong sales at home electronics and appliance stores (+2.1%) were behind this advance. This may have been influenced by the introduction of new technologies in the telephones and home office electronics commodity group, which accounts for approximately 15% of sales at home electronics and appliance stores.

Sales at general merchandise stores declined 0.6% in June, giving back the gains of the previous two months. Sales for this store type have been relatively flat since October 2008.

The other sector where sales declined was building and outdoor home supplies stores. The 0.6% decline in June did not fully offset May's increase. Sales were down for home centres and hardware stores as well as at specialized building materials and garden stores.

Sales up in nine provinces

Retail sales were up in nine provinces in June. Sales in Quebec rose 1.8%, making it the largest contributor to the national increase. In addition to price-induced higher sales at gasoline stations, this advance reflects strong sales at new car dealerships.

The highest rates of increase were on the Prairies where Manitoba (+2.8%) and Saskatchewan (+2.3%) both built on their gains from the previous month.

Except for April, sales in Nova Scotia (+1.8%) have risen every month in 2009. Nova Scotia was the only province where retail sales in June were higher than in October 2008.

With a 1.0% increase, sales in Newfoundland and Labrador rose for the sixth consecutive month in June.

After a strong increase in May, retail sales in Ontario were essentially unchanged in June.

The only province where sales decreased in June was New Brunswick. The 0.2% dip in sales follows a month in which the province posted the largest growth in sales nationally.

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