Canadian wholesale nudges up in June

Overall wholesale sales in Canada crept up 0.2 percent in June, led largely by gains in sales of agricultural supplies, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. The value of wholesale trade was $47.8 billion, with gains in four of seven sectors representing about half of all sales, the agency said. "After removing the effect of price changes, wholesale sales in volume terms declined 0.5 percent in June," StatsCan said. "This was partly attributable to the depreciation of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar during the month." The miscellaneous sector reported an overall gain of 3.5 percent in June, shored up by the agricultural subsector, which was up 15.1 percent in response to strong global demand and increasing prices of fertilizer, the report said. "The motor vehicle and parts subsector declined 0.5 percent, mainly reflecting a 2 percent decrease in the new motor vehicle parts and accessories industry," the agency said. Copyright 2011 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.