Canadian retail sales rise 1.2 per cent in August

Retail sales in August

74.6 $ billion

Statistics Canada says retail sales rose 1.2 per cent to $74.6 billion in August, helped by higher new car sales.

Gains in August

• Motor vehicle and parts dealers: up 1.2 per cent
• New car dealers: up 1.5 per cent
• Food and beverage retailers: up 1.1 per cent
• General merchandise retailers: up 1 per cent

Sales rose in all nine subsectors tracked, led by motor vehicle and parts dealers. Core retail sales, which exclude fuel and vehicles, were up 1.1 per cent.

What's next

An advance estimate suggests retail sales rose 0.7 per cent in September, though Statistics Canada cautioned the figure will be revised.