Canadian Retail Sales Edge Up On Higher Gasoline Prices

Canadian retailers recorded a slowdown in November on a sharp decline in auto sales. Retail sales increased 0.2 percent in November, after a 1.6 percent gain a month earlier, Statistics Canada said Thursday from Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a 0.8 percent gain. While consumers have been paring back from a stellar first half, sales are still on pace for one of the best years on record. Receipts in the first 11 months of 2017 are 6.8 percent above levels seen a year ago. That’s the biggest 11-month gain since 1997. Read more at Bloomberg.