Canada: Retail sales declined 0.1% to $50.8 billion in August

"Retail sales declined 0.1% to $50.8 billion in August, following a 0.2% increase in July," Statistics Canada reported on Friday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• Sales were down in 7 of 11 subsectors in August, representing 52% of retail trade.
• In volume terms, retail sales decreased 0.3%.
• Lower sales at gasoline stations (-2.0%) more than offset gains at motor vehicle and parts dealers (+0.8%).
• Excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales declined 0.4%.