Retail sales in Canada fell for the third consecutive month as motor vehicle and parts dealers's trade declined due to lower new car sales.
Retail sales fell -0.3% in January, compared to -0.1% in December, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
Economists had expected sales to rise to 0.4%.
A rise in food and building material companies' receipts failed to offset the weakness in auto sales. Car and auto-part sales slipped -1.5% after an increase of 1% in the prior month, while gasoline sales fell -.04%.
Core retail sales, which excludes automobile sales, rose 0.1%. That follows a downwardly revised -0.8% drop in December.
