Canadian wholesale trade grows less than expected in November

The value of Canadian wholesale trade advanced less than expected in November, official figures revealed on Monday. According to Statistics Canada, the country's wholesale trade rose 0.2% in the reported month, whereas market analysts anticipated an increase of 0.3%. In the meantime, the October gain of 1.1% was revised up to 1.3%. In volume terms, sale dropped 0.1% in November. In a report, Statistics Canada said sales grew in four out of seven sectors. The largest monthly gain came in the miscellaneous sector with a 7.2% increase. Agricultural supplies contributed most to the following rise. Furthermore, data showed sales of building materials and supplies climbed 3.8% on a monthly basis, mainly driven by higher sales of forestry products. Nevertheless, a 5.8% decline posted by the motor vehicle sector offset gains in other sectors. That was the second decrease in eight months. The report suggests that Canadian economic growth slowed in the last quarter of 2016. Back in the Q3, the Canadian economy expanded at an annual pace of 0.9% after contracting 0.4% in the prior quarter amid the Alberta wildfires. 

After the release, the Canadian Dollar was seen trading at 1.3309 against its US counterpart, 1.4287 against the Euro and 85.15 against the Japanese Yen and 1.0088 against the Australian Dollar.