Canada: Retail sales decline 0.3% in January vs +0.4% expected

"Retail sales decreased for the third consecutive month, declining 0.3% to $50.1 billion in January," Statistics Canada reported on Friday. This reading fell short of analysts' estimate for an increase of 0.4%.

Key takeaways from the press release

• Sales were down in 4 of 11 subsectors, representing 52% of retail trade.
• Lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers (-1.5%) contributed to the majority of the decline.
  • Excluding sales in this subsector, retail sales increased 0.1%