Canada Dec retail sales fall 0.5 pct on weaker autos, holiday sales

Feb 22 (

Reuters

) - Canadian retail sales in December fell by 0.5 percent from November to C$44.91 billion ($34.12 billion), dragged down by motor vehicle and parts dealers, along with weaker holiday sales,

Statistics Canada

said on Wednesday. Sales declined in 9 of 11 subsectors, representing 82 percent of retail trade. In volume terms, retail sales decreased by 1.0 percent. (Percent changes) Dec Dec Nov(rev) Nov(prev) mo/mo yr/yr mo/mo mo/mo Total -0.5 +4.3 +0.3 +0.2 Excluding autos/parts -0.3 +4.4 -0.1 +0.1 ($1=C$1.3164) NOTE: Figures are seasonally adjusted. Analysts had, on average, forecast no change in overall sales and an increase of 0.6 percent excluding auto sales. (Reporting by Dale Smith; Editing by

Leah Schnurr

)