Canada Wholesale Trade Rises 0.7% in November

By Kim Mackrael

OTTAWA--Canadian wholesale transactions rose for a seventh consecutive month in November because of higher domestic sales of Canadian goods.

Wholesale sales advanced 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis in November from the previous month to 67.42 billion Canadian dollars (US$52.83 billion), Statistics Canada said Tuesday. Market expectations were for a 1% increase, according to economists at CIBC Capital Markets.

Wholesale sales in the previous month rose a revised 1.3%, higher than the 1% increase the data agency had initially reported.

In volume, or price-adjusted terms, sales rose 0.9% in November.

The rise in the value of wholesale sales in November was driven by advances in the machinery, equipment and supplies and the building material and supplies subsectors.

On a 12-month basis, wholesale trade in Canada increased by 7.7%.

Statistics Canada said the demand for wholesale goods held firm in November despite an increase in some restrictions on business activities to deal with a second wave of new coronavirus infections. Sales in November were 4.4% higher than their pre-pandemic level.

Wholesale trade is the largest component of Canada's services sector. Wholesalers connect farmers or manufacturers that produce goods with companies and public institutions that use them. They also import goods from other countries and redistribute them within Canada.

Write to Kim Mackrael at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-19-21 0923ET