(Bloomberg) --
Canadian manufacturers and wholesalersrecorded sharply lower sales in November, adding to evidence thenation's economy entered a soft patch at the end of last year.
Wholesale sales dropped 1 percent in November, the biggest onemonth decline for the sector since March 2016, Statistics Canadareported in Ottawa on Tuesday. Factory sales were down 1.4percent, the largest drop since January. Both sectors alsorecorded declines in volumes.
The data confirm Canada's expansion has likely entered whateconomists believe is a temporary slowdown that is expected tolast through the first few months of this year, amid a slump inthe country's oil sector and overall weakening in globaleconomic sentiment.
The Bank of Canada estimates quarterly growth probably slowed toan annualized pace of 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018and will drop even further in the first three months in 2019 tobelow 1 percent.
The slowdown prompted central bank policy makers at their lastrate decision earlier this month to indicate less urgency forfurther interest rate increases.
The weakness in wholesale was broad-based, and larger than whateconomists had been anticipating. Five of seven wholesalesubsectors recorded declines in November. Economists had beenanticipating a 0.3 percent drop for the month.
The manufacturing picture was more mixed, with 13 of 21industries recorded declines. Refinery sales led declines, witha 14 percent drop on the back of lower prices and due to lowerproduction resulting from maintenance work. The monthly drop inrefinery sales was the largest since January 2015.
Economists had forecast factory sales would drop 1 percent.
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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