OTTAWA, Feb.20 (Xinhua) -- Canada's wholesale sales declined 0.5 percent to 63 billion Canadian dollars (some 47 billion U.S. dollars) in December 2017 due to declining demand for the personal and household goods and the miscellaneous subsectors, according to Statistics Canada Tuesday.
Lower sales were recorded in five of seven subsectors, representing 65 percent of total wholesale sales in December. In volume terms, wholesale sales declined 0.9 percent.
The personal and household goods subsector saw the largest decline in dollar terms in December, dropping 3.3 percent to 8.5 billion Canadian dollars (6.7 billion U.S. dollars), lowest level since April 2017 and only the third decrease for the subsector in 2017.
Five of six industries in this subsector reported declines in December, led by the home entertainment equipment and household appliance industry.
Sales in the miscellaneous subsector fell 2.4 percent to 7.9 billion Canadian dollars (6.2 billion U.S.dollars), erasing the combined gains from the previous two months.
Four of five industries posted declines, with the decrease in the agricultural supplies industry being the leading contributor to December's downward movement.
Wholesale sales declined 1.4 percent in both the food, beverage and tobacco, and the motor vehicle and parts subsectors in December. Sales in the food, beverage and tobacco subsector fell to 12 billion Canadian dollars (9.5 billion dollars) as a result of drops posted in the food industry, down 1.9 percent to 10.8 billion Canadian dollars (8.5 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem
