Jan 22, 2008

Canadian Retail Sales Rise More Than Expected In NovemberBy RTTNews.com

Statistics Canada released its report on Canadian retail sales in the month of November on Tuesday, showing that sales rose more than economists had been expecting due in large part to a sharp rise in gas station sales.

The report showed that retail sales rose 0.7 percent in November following a revised 0.3 percent increase in October. Economists had been expecting a more modest increase of about 0.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The stronger than expected retail sales growth was largely due to a 7.7 percent increase in sales by gas stations, which marked the biggest increase in gas station sales since May of 2004. General merchandise stores also reported strong sales growth.

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