Canada: Retail sales drop by 0.1% in December vs -0.3% expected

"Retail sales edged down 0.1% to $50.4 billion in December," Statistics Canada said on Friday. "Lower sales at gasoline stations (-3.6%) were partly offset by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers (+1.0%). Excluding gasoline stations, retail sales increased 0.4%."

Key takeaways from the press release

• After removing the effects of price changes, retail sales in volume terms increased 0.2%.
• Retail sales declined 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018, following a 0.7% increase in the third quarter.
• In volume terms, retail sales were relatively unchanged in the fourth quarter.
• Retail sales in 2018 totalled $605 billion, up 2.7% from 2017.