OTTAWA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Canada's retail sales fell 0.6 percent to 56.6 billion Canadian dollars (about 44.7 billion U.S. dollars) in September, according to Statistics Canada.

The fall was mainly due to lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers when new car dealer sales continued to struggle amid global supply shortages for semiconductor chips.

The sales decreased in seven of 11 subsectors, representing 63.5 percent of retail trade.

The sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers declined 1.6 percent in September. It was also the largest decline at new car dealers since sales declined 11.1 percent in December 2020. Higher sales at used car dealers, which jumped 6.3 percent, slightly offsetting the declines at new car dealers.

Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, were down 0.3 percent.

In volume terms, retail sales decreased 1.1 percent in September.

However, in terms of quarterly, Canada's retail sales were up 2.7 percent in the third quarter, the largest increase since the third quarter of 2020.

In volume terms, quarterly sales were up 1.5 percent.

Core retail sales decreased 0.3 percent in September. The largest decline to core retail came from clothing and clothing accessories stores, where sales dropped 5.9 percent in September.

But higher sales were reported at food and beverage stores which rose 1.3 percent. Receipts increased for a second consecutive month at both supermarkets and other grocery stores which increased 1.5 percent while beer, wine and liquor stores rose 1.4 percent. Enditem

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