Wholesale sales in Canada advanced in June at a faster-than-expected pace on robust sales of agricultural supplies and building materials.
Month-over-month wholesale trade rose 0.6% to $53.01 billion, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. Traders had anticipated a 0.4% advance, according to economists at Royal Bank of Canada.
On a volume basis, sales climbed 0.7%.
The prior month's figures were revised upward, and now indicate wholesale sales rose 2.3% versus the original estimate of a 2.2% gain.
Wholesalers account for the largest portion of the service sector, and generally act as an intermediary in the distribution of merchandise. As a result, many wholesalers tend to sell merchandise in large quantities to retailers, businesses and institutional clients.
Five of the seven wholesale subsectors tracked by StatsCan recorded gains in the month, led by catch-all miscellaneous category, up 3.1% to $6.88 billion. Within miscellaneous, agricultural supplies were among the largest contributors, as sales increased 4.9% to $2.04 billion.
The building materials and supplies sector rose 2.2%, to $7.60 billion, to reach the highest level on record.
Offsetting these gains was a 2.4% decline in the motor-vehicle sector. Excluding vehicle and auto parts sales, wholesale trade rose in June by 1.2%.
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