Retail sales fall in B. C.
Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that seasonally adjusted December retail sales in B. C. fell 1.4 per cent. Sales slowed 0.2 per cent nationally to $ 38.6 billion.
OTTAWA — Retail sales eased in December following four months of gains, suggesting to economists the economy is on track to perform modestly well in the months ahead but that consumer spending is likely to slow.
Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that seasonally adjusted national retail sales slowed 0.2 per cent to $ 38.6 billion in December, in line with economists’ expectations. However retail sales in B. C. in the same period slid 1.4 per cent. November’s gain was revised up to a 0.4 per cent increase from 0.3 per cent.
The declines came as auto sales slipped by one per cent, and most store types typically associated with holiday shopping — such as electronics, clothing and merchandise stores — registered weaker results in December, the federal agency reported.
CIBCWORLD Markets economist Emanuella Enenajor attributed December’s numbers in part to a “Black Friday hangover” that came as Canadian retailers adopted earlierthan- normal U. S.- style holiday discounting.
Despite December’s slower pace, real retail sales rose at a healthy 5.3 per cent annualized rate in the fourth quarter, the highest level since the first quarter of 2010, according to National Bank senior economist Krishen Rangasamy.
“For the month of December, the earlier reported gains in real manufacturing as well as better wholesale volumes should offset the softness in retailing, allowing for a 0.2 per cent or so increase in the month’s GDP. For the quarter as a whole, it looks like fourth- quarter growth won’t be too far from the Bank of Canada’s two per cent annualized estimate,” Rangasamy said in a research note.
Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, cautioned however that consumer spending is likely to ease in 2012.
“After a solid run, Canadian spending downshifted in December, which could be the start of a trend,” he said.
“While a spike in January auto sales points to a temporary burst in spending to start 2012, we don’t expect much from the Canadian consumer in the year ahead. Slower job growth, weak wage gains, and public sector restraint will leave households income- constrained.”