February wholesale numbers disappoint

Wholesale sales declined 0.8% to $62.8 billion in February, reports StatsCan. That’s the largest downward movement and the second monthly drop since September 2017, and was below consensus. Lower sales were recorded in four of seven subsectors, representing 64% of total wholesale sales. The miscellaneous and motor vehicle and parts subsectors contributed most to the […]

By Staff | April 23, 2018 | Last updated on April 23, 2018

1 min read

Wholesale sales declined 0.8% to $62.8 billion in February, reports StatsCan. That’s the largest downward movement and the second monthly drop since September 2017, and was below consensus.

Lower sales were recorded in four of seven subsectors, representing 64% of total wholesale sales. The miscellaneous and motor vehicle and parts subsectors contributed most to the decline.

In volume terms, wholesale sales decreased 0.9% from January to February.

The soft February reading will “go down as yet another disappointment in the components for Q1 GDP,” says CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld in emailed commentary to clients.

Though the reading isn’t likely to move markets, Shenfeld says that “it does feed into what has been a more cautious trend for both growth and Bank of Canada rate expectations.”

Also read:

Canadians spent more in Q1, year over year. Here’s where.

IMF forecasts slower Canadian growth relative to U.S.

Canada manufacturing sales rose 1.9% to $55.8 billion in February