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Canada's Retail Sales Rise Slightly More Than Expected in June, but July's Preliminary Data Suggests a Contraction

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Canadian retail sales advanced 0.6% monthly to C$74.3 billion in June, with gains in seven of nine subsectors, according to the country's statistical agency on Friday.

General merchandise retailers led the increase, while sales at clothing, clothing accessories, shoe, jewelry, luggage and leather goods stores also advanced, Statistics Canada wrote in a statement. Food and beverage retailers were the only core category to record a decline.

June's retail sales were slightly better than the 0.4% monthly consensus increase in a Bloomberg survey.

Gasoline stations and fuel vendors recorded the largest decline, with sales falling 4.1% monthly and posting their first drop in four months, added StatsCan. In volume terms, however, gasoline sales rose 4.2%.

Looking ahead, the advance estimate points to a 0.8% monthly decline in retail sales in July, according to the Ottawa-based agency. The preliminary figure is based on responses from 56.5% of surveyed companies, compared with an average final response rate of 87.3% over the past 12 months.

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