Canada Wholesale Sales Fell More-Than-Expected 1.8% in October

Canadian wholesale sales fell more than three times as much as expected in October as demand for recyclable metals and cars slowed.

Sales dropped 1.8 percent, the most since February, to C$45.3 billion ($37.5 billion), Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg said sales would fall 0.5 percent, the median of 13 estimates, after a 1.1 percent gain in September.

The sales decline was led by a 6.9 percent drop in sales of cars and trucks and an 8 percent plunge in the “other products” category, its biggest since March 2001, caused by lower demand and prices for recyclable metals. Car and truck sales were 14 percent below a year ago, the agency said.

Excluding autos, wholesale sales fell 1.2 percent, with four of seven industry components tracked by the statistics agency recording a decline. Inventories rose for an eighth straight month, gaining 0.8 percent.

Excluding price changes, sales tumbled 3.6 percent in October, Statistics Canada also said. The Canadian dollar depreciated during the month and boosted the cost of imported goods, the agency said to explain the discrepancy.

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