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Canada Retail Sales Drop 0.4% in Sharp Spending Pullback
Canadian consumers sharply pulled back their spending in January after stronger-than-expected retail purchases at the end of last year. Receipts for retailers fell 0.4%, the biggest decline since March 2023, according to an advance estimate from Statistics Canada released Thursday. That followed a 0.9% jump in December, which beat the median estimate of 0.8% gain in a Bloomberg survey. In volume terms, retail sales rose 0.8% that month. December’s increase was led by higher sales at car and parts dealers. Sales were also up at gas stations, food and beverage retailers and general merchandise retailers. Excluding ... (full story)