Retail sales fell 2.5% to $61.3 billion in July: Statistics Canada

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OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says retail gross sales fell 2.5 per cent to $61.3 billion in July, the primary drop in seven months as gross sales at gasoline stations and clothes and clothes equipment shops decreased.

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Nevertheless, the company says its preliminary estimate for August pointed to a achieve of 0.4 per cent for the month, however famous the determine will likely be revised.

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Statistics Canada says the July gross sales had been down in 9 of the 11 subsectors it tracks, representing 94.5 per cent of retail commerce.

Gross sales at gasoline stations fell 14.2 per cent for the month as gasoline costs fell 9.2 per cent and gross sales at gasoline stations in quantity phrases decreased 7.0 per cent. Gross sales at clothes and clothes equipment shops dropped 3.3 per cent.

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Core retail gross sales — which exclude gasoline stations and motorized vehicle and components sellers — fell 0.9 per cent.

In quantity phrases, retail gross sales fell 2.0 per cent in July.