Canada's retail sales down in April

OTTAWA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Canada's retail sales fell 5.7 percent to 54.8 billion Canadian dollars in April 2021, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

The fall coincided with the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and was the largest decline in retail sales since April 2020 amid the first wave.

The largest declines were seen in clothing and clothing accessories stores, which plunged 28.6 percent, and general merchandise stores, which fell 8.1 percent.

Sales decreased in nine of 11 subsectors, representing 74.2 percent of retail trade.

Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, fell 7.6 percent.

In volume terms, retail sales decreased 5.6 percent in April. Enditem