OTTAWA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The value of Canadian wholesale trade dipped 0.5 percent in December, pulled down in part by weaker demand for home entertainment equipment and household appliances, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast an increase of 0.4 percent. Statscan revised November's month-on-month gain down to 0.3 percent from an initial 0.7 percent to incorporate corrected data from some respondents.
Lower sales were recorded in five of the seven subsectors, representing 65 percent of wholesale trade in December, while volumes declined 0.9 percent.
The personal and household goods subsector dropped 3.3 percent to its lowest level since April 2017 while sales in the miscellaneous subsector fell 2.4 percent on weakness in the agricultural supplies industry.
Wholesale trade in 2017 rose for the eighth year in a row, jumping 9.4 percent to a new record. The year-over-year increase was the biggest advance since the 13.7 percent leap in 1997.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic - wholesale trade
http://link.reuters.com/cyr43t Graphic - Canada economic snapshot
http://tmsnrt.rs/2e8hNWV
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>