Retail sales in Canada declined by 2.1% in May to $53.8 billion, according to data released Friday evening, July 23 (July 23), as the sector was affected by the closure due to the third wave of the Corona virus, as sales fell in eight of 11 sub-sectors representing about 65.6% of retail trade in Canada.
Core sales, excluding petrol stations, auto trade and the spare parts sector declined by 2.4%, while the largest decline in retail sales came from the trade of building materials and garden equipment, down by 11.3%. In contrast, sales in clothing and accessories stores decreased by 11.2% after closing more than 23 % of clothing stores for six days, food and beverage stores in turn declined by about 0.8% in May.
The Canadian dollar is trading at 1.2582 levels against the US dollar, after testing 1.2606 levels after the statement.