Ford vehicles for sale at a car dealership in Oakville, Ont.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
Statistics Canada says retail sales were up 1.1 per cent at $70.7-billion in January, led by sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
It says sales were up in six of the nine subsectors it tracks, as the motor vehicle and parts dealers subsector posted the largest increase in retail sales in January – up two per cent.
Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, rose 0.9 per cent in January, led by higher sales at general merchandise retailers. Sales at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers increased 2.6 per cent.
Food and beverage retailers posted the largest decline in core retail sales, down 0.6 per cent, while sales at supermarkets and other grocers, except convenience stores, fell 0.7 per cent.
In volume terms, retail sales were up one per cent in January.
The agency says its early estimate for February pointed to a gain of 0.9 per cent, though it cautioned the figure would be revised.