(Adds details on volume, economic context, dollar figure)
OTTAWA, July 23 (Reuters) - Canadian retail sales rose 1.0
percent to a record C$42.97 billion ($33.05 billion) in May,
topping expectations and rebounding from steep declines in
December and January, according to Statistics Canada data on
Thursday.
Sales tallies, all seasonally adjusted, increased in
February and March but dipped 0.1 percent in April. They had
fallen in December because of cheaper gasoline and a shift of
Christmas shopping from December to November.
The retail data will help brighten up what has been a
relatively gloomy economic outlook for the second quarter, with
the Bank of Canada predicting a second straight quarterly
contraction. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected retail
sales to rise 0.5 percent in May.
Volumes rose by 0.4 percent from April and were 2.5 percent
higher than the same period a year ago.
Autos, gasoline and electronics and appliances led the sales
increases in May.
($1=$1.30 Canadian)