Canadian wholesale trade jumped by 1.9% in April from March, far more than the 0.3% forecast, erasing some of the declines early in the year.
Figures released Wednesday morning by Statistics Canada also revised up March’s increase to 1% from 0.8%. The level of sales, which are seasonally adjusted, had declined by a total of 4.1% in January and February in what Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz had characterized as an atrocious quarter.
The motor vehicle industry led April’s gains, adding 9.3% and standing 16.3% over a year earlier. Excluding this industry, wholesale sales were up 0.4% from March.
Machinery, equipment and supplies, a proxy for the business investment being sought by the central bank, were up 1.5%.
Inventories rose 0.5% to a record level but the ratio of inventories to sales declined to 1.30 from 1.32 in March, due to the higher increase in sales. In volume terms, sales rose 2%.
