Canada March retail sales down 1.4% on autos, seen up 0.2% in April

May 19 (Reuters) – Canadian retail sales fell by 1.4% in March from February at C$65.29 billion ($48.83 billion), on lower sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers, as well as gasoline stations, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Sales were seen to rise by 0.2% in April, the agency said in a flash estimate.

Sales were down in five of nine subsectors, representing 55.5% of retail trade. In volume terms, retail sales decreased 1.0%.

(Percent changes) Mar Mar Feb(rev) Feb(prev)

mo/mo yr/yr mo/mo mo/mo

Total -1.4 +2.4 -0.2 -0.2

Excluding autos/parts -0.3 +0.5 -0.7 -0.7

NOTE: Analysts surveyed by Reuters forecast a 1.4% decline in retail sales in March from February. All figures are seasonally adjusted.

($1=$1.3372 Canadian)

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