Figures released Thursday showed Canadian manufacturing sales declined less than expected in February after three consecutive months of increases, weighed down by declines in the vehicle assembly sector.
The 0.2% decrease noted by Statistics Canada was not as steep as the 0.7% decline economists had expected, though January was revised down to a gain of 0.1% from an initially reported 0.6%
The agency goes on to say that sales fell in 10 out of 21 industries in February, areas that account for 37% of the manufacturing sector. Stripping out the effects of price changes, volumes were up 0.1%
Sales in the motor vehicle assembly sector tumbled 5.3% as fewer vehicles were produced. A 5% decline in the petroleum and coal products sector weighed on overall sales as the sector was hurt by lower prices and volumes.
Forward-looking new orders rose 0.8%, led by increased demand in the transportation equipment, clothing and fabricated metal sectors.
Experts say the small dip in sales is not likely to change economists' expectations that economic growth was solid in the first quarter. The Bank of Canada on Wednesday revised up its growth forecast for the first three months of calendar 2017 to 3.8%
