Canada's 1Q retail sales up 6 percent

Published: July 14, 2008 at 10:16 AM

OTTAWA, July 14 (UPI) -- Canadian retail sales in the first quarter of 2008 rose 6 percent over the same period a year ago to $92.5 billion, Statistics Canada reported Monday.

Of all commodity groups, only housewares posted a slight decline, the agency said.

Sales of automotive fuels rose 20.5 percent compared with the first quarter of 2007 and accounted for almost 12 cents of every retail dollar spent in the first quarter, StatsCan said.

The first quarter of 2008 saw Canadians spent 6 percent more on food and beverages over the same period in 2007.

Based on the continuing strength of the housing market, sales of furniture, home furnishings and electronics were up 6.5 percent over the same period in 2007, the report said.

"The strong increase of 7.6 percent in new car sales over the same quarter in 2007 was almost completely offset by a decline in truck sales," StatsCan said.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Doctors review hemicorporectomy procedures (4 min)
Markets put on early charge Monday (17 min)
Final STS-129 spacewalk under way (45 min)
Better TB, malaria and AIDS tests urged (52 min)
eBay says search problem is fixed
War games push crude oil prices
Westwood at career best in golf rankings
fark
He brings a shotgun, you bring a bagel cart. That's the Orlando way
CDC Releases H1N1.6 Service Pack 2
Welcome home Captain. Thank you for serving your country. Get ready for your Big Mac attack
Woman dies after crashing a stolen U-Haul truck. It's a very moving story
Housing prices, bombs go through the roof in Kabul
The dream: solo deer-hunting in the heart of the Everglades. The reality: limping lost through a...