Canada December Retail Sales Slump 3.4% As COVID Restrictions Bite

Canadian retail sales slumped by 3.4% in December to C$53.38 billion ($42.37 billion), the biggest monthly drop since April, as COVID-19 restrictions forced many businesses to shut down, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Analysts in a Reuters poll had on average, forecast a 2.5% decline in overall sales in December. Statscan revised November’s gain up to 1.8% from an initial 1.3%. The pain is likely to continue into January, since Statscan said preliminary data suggested sales had dropped 3.3%. Read more at Reuters.