Canadian retail sales unexpectedly fell in May for the second straight month, led by a drop in building material and garden equipment supplies. Total retail sales slid 0.2 percent in May from April, Statistics Canada said on Thursday. Excluding the auto sector, sales edged down 0.1 percent, while sales in volume terms rose 0.4 percent, following an upward trend since the start of 2009.
The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for a 0.4 percent advance in retail sales in May. Statscan revised April's month-on-month fall to 2.2 percent from an initially reported 2.0 percent decline. Two of the largest declines in the month were at gasoline stations, down 2.3 percent, as prices fell at the pump, while the building material and garden equipment supplies sector fell 4.1 percent.
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