"Motor vehicles plants are usually closed for the part of December, however, the reduction in production was greater than usually observed"
- Statistics Canada
Manufacturing sales in Canada sank more than initially was expected in the last month of 2012, reflecting weak activity in the manufacturing sector. Sales dropped 3.1% to $48.0 billion in December, compared with an upwardly revised 1.9% advance in November, Statistics Canada reported on Friday. The reading came below analysts' expectations, who expected just a 0.8% drop in sales. On an annual basis, manufacturing sales fell 3.9% in December, while for a whole 2012 sales rose 3.4% from 2011. At the same time sales of durable goods went down 4.2% to $24.2 billion, while non-durable goods sales tumbled 2.0% to $23.8 billion.
"Motor vehicles plants are usually closed for the part of December, however, the reduction in production was greater than usually observed," Statistics Canada noted.
"Our outlook for the Canadian economy is a relatively rosy one, as we expect the pace of expansion to accelerate over the course of 2013 after the weakness experienced last year—but we project lower average growth for 2013 as a result of weak economic activity at the end of 2012 carrying over to 2013," said Roberto Cardarelli from IMF.
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