(Adds details, background)
OTTAWA, May 19 (Reuters) - The value of Canadian wholesale
trade dropped by 1.0 percent in March, pulled down in part by
weaker sales in the motor vehicles and parts subsector,
Statistics Canada said on Thursday.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted a 0.5 percent drop
in wholesale sales from February. Statistics Canada revised
February's month-on-month decline to 2.3 percent from an initial
2.2 percent.
Lower sales were recorded in five of seven subsectors,
accounting for 65 percent of total wholesale trade. In volume
terms, sales fell by 0.4 percent.
The motor vehicles and parts subsector dropped by 2.5
percent to its lowest level in four months as vehicle sales fell
while the miscellaneous subsector sank 3.2 percent on weakness
in the agricultural supplies industry.
Overall, wholesale inventories edged down by 0.1 percent to
their lowest in six months.
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Graphic - wholesale trade http://link.reuters.com/cyr43t
Graphic - Canada economic dashboard http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/sc-canada/index.html
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