Canadian monthly wholesale sales rose nearly twice as fast as expected in February to the highest level on record, with the motor vehicle industry leading across-the-board gains, according to the latest figures this morning from Statistics Canada
The overall value of sales was up 1.1% -- the largest increase since July 2013 -- to $50.67 billion, following a downwardly revised 0.5% gain in January.
The consensus call was for sales to rise 0.6% from the originally estimated 0.8% increase in the prior month, according to a report from Royal Bank of Canada.
Sales volume, or sales in constant dollars, a figure which economists use to estimate how much wholesale trade contributed to economic growth in the month, was up 0.8%.
The agency also says this was the biggest gain since last July, and suggests a decent contribution from this sector to February's gross domestic product. Monthly GDP figures are due out next week.
