By CountingPips.com
Canadian Retail Sales increased in October for the eighth month out of the last ten months according to the monthly report released by Statistics Canada today. Retail sales increased by 0.8 percent to C$35.3 billion in October following a revised increase of 1.1 percent in September. The rise in retail sales matched economic 
forecasts that were predicting the 0.8 percent increase for the month.
Core retail sales, excluding automobile sales, advanced by 0.3 percent in October following a revised gain of 1.0 percent in September. The gain in core sales surpassed forecasts that were expecting a 0.2 percent increase.
Contributing to the rise in the retail sales numbers was an increase in the automotive sector by 3.0 percent as the new auto sector has now gained for six straight months. Gasoline station sales increased for the third month in a row with a 2.5 percent rise. Negatively contributing to the monthly retail sales were decreases in the food and beverages stores sector which saw a 1.2 percent decline while the pharmacies and personal care sector also decreased by 0.9 percent.
