Forexpros – Canadian wholesale sales rose more-than-expected in April, gaining for the third consecutive month, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales rose by 1.5% in April, beating expectations for a 1.0% increase.
March’s figure was revised to a gain of 0.3% from a previously reported increase of 0.4%.
Year-on-year, Canadian wholesale sales rose at an annualized rate of 7.6% in April, after climbing by a revised 5.9% in March.
Canadian wholesale sales totaled CAD49.3 billion in April. An increase in sales was reported in four of the seven subsectors, accounting for roughly two-thirds of total wholesale sales.
The overall increase was almost entirely attributable to a 12.8% rise in the miscellaneous subsector. This subsector was stimulated by a 48.5% increase in sales in the agricultural supplies industry.
The rise coincided with a strong increase in exports of fertilizers and fertilizer materials, which were up 51.8% in April over March.
Following the release of the data, the Canadian dollar remained higher against its U.S. counterpart, with USD/CAD shedding 0.28% to trade at 1.0212.
Forexpros
