- Stephen Poloz, Bank of Canada Governor
Canadian wholesale trade unexpectedly fell to its lowest level in six months in February, Statistics Canada data reported. The value of Canadian wholesale trade unexpectedly declined by 0.4% in February to $53.62-billion. Analysts had predicted no change after January's 2.9% fall, which was the biggest month-on-month plunge in six years. Statscan revised the drop from an initial 3.1%. The building material and supplies subsector appeared to be the biggest downside contributor to the headline figure, recording the largest decrease in dollar terms in February, as it fell 2.7% to $7.45-billion amid widespread weakness. Sales in the motor vehicle and parts subsector declined 1.4% to $8.81-billion, their lowest level in 10 months. Sales fell in three of the seven subsectors, making up 51% of wholesale trade. In volume terms, sales fell 0.7%. As a result, inventories increased by 0.6%, rising for the 14th consecutive month. Gains were recorded in five of the seven subsectors, accounting for 68% of wholesale inventories.
Following the release of Canada's wholesale sales data for February, the Canadian Dollar was trading mixed versus its major counterparts. While the Loonie changed little against the Japanese Yen and the US Dollar, it declined versus the Euro and the Aussie. The Loonie was trading at 1.2224 versus the greenback, 97.63 against the Yen, 1.3096 against the Euro and 0.9471 against the aussie.
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