"If you were to look only at the nominal dollar value of retail sales, then this report was a disappointment"
- Derek Holt, economist at Bank of Nova Scotia
Canadian retail sales advanced for the fifth consecutive month in November, led by record car purchases, adding to some signs of strength in the Canadian economy. The report by the Statistics Canada showed, that the primary gauge of consumer spending jumped by 0.2% to 39.44 billion Canadian dollars. At the same time, the volume of sales, which excludes the effects of price changes, added 0.8%. Tuesday's report as well as greater-than-forecast increases in employment, factory sales and receipts for wholesalers posted earlier this month, may indicate a pick-up in growth in the last three months of 2012.
"If you were to look only at the nominal dollar value of retail sales, then this report was a disappointment," said Derek Holt, economist at Bank of Nova Scotia. "The key, however, is that the volume of sales was very strong and that supports November gross domestic product."
"The indications of strengthening activity in November provide reason for optimism that, as we expect, growth will pick up," Nathan Janzen, an economist at Royal Bank of Canada, said in a note to investors.
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