Canada September wholesale trade up 0.1% on pharmaceuticals

Nov 15 (Reuters) – Canadian wholesale trade increased by 0.1% in September from August on the higher sales in the personal and household goods subsector, and in particular pharmaceutical products, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.

Sales were up in five out of seven subsectors, representing 70.2% of wholesale trade, while sales were higher in three of the ten provinces. Sales fell by 0.2% in volume terms.

(Percent changes)

Sep Sep Aug (rev) Aug (prev)

mo/mo yr/yr mo/mo mo/mo

Wholesale trade +0.1 +12.4 +1.9 +1.4

Wholesale trade ex-autos -0.1 +11.9 +2.1 +1.3

Wholesale inventories +1.2 +26.3 +1.5 +1.5

Sectors:

Farm products +9.9 +15.0

Food/beverages/tobacco +1.9 +10.8

Personal/household +4.3 +3.5

Motor Vehicles and Parts +0.9 +15.5

Building materials/supplies -2.5 +6.9

Machinery/equipment +0.9 +19.6

Misc. -5.8 +16.2

NOTE: Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast a 0.2% decrease in wholesale trade in September from August. All figures are seasonally adjusted. (Reporting by Dale Smith)

Keywords: CANADA ECONOMY/WHOLESALE