Statistics Canada reports July increase in wholesale sales

Statistics Canada says wholesale sales rose 0.3 per cent to $93.1 billion in July, excluding petroleum, petroleum products and other hydrocarbons, as well as oilseed and grain.

Sales increased in three of the seven subsectors tracked by the agency. Building materials and supplies rose 3.5 per cent to $13.8 billion, while food, beverage and tobacco sales increased 1.7 per cent to $16.7 billion.

The miscellaneous subsector declined 2.9 per cent to $12.3 billion, as sales in the mineral, ore and precious metal industry group fell 31.4 per cent to $899.6 million.

In volume terms, wholesale sales fell 0.6 per cent in July when the same categories were excluded. Statistics Canada has begun including oilseed and grain, along with the petroleum and petroleum products subsector, in wholesale trade data, but is excluding them from its monthly analysis until sufficient historical data are available for comparison.