Alberta retail sales fall to lowest level since June 2013

Retail sales in Alberta have declined for three straight months, reaching their lowest level since June 2013, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.

Seasonally adjusted sales were down 0.8 per cent in July to $6.059 billion.

Retail sales peaked in the province back inOctober 2014,at$6.657 billion.

Alberta retail sales by month (click or tap graph for more detail):

Alberta was one of six provinces to see retail sales fall in July.

Declines were the biggest in New Brunswick at6.9%and Newfoundland and Labrador at6.2%.Thatcoincided with an increase in the harmonized sales tax in both provinces in July, Statistics Canada noted.

Retail sales were down across thePrairie provinces largelydue to declines amongcar dealers and gas stations.

"We are seeing a pullback in what economists call discretionary spending," saidTodd Hirsch, chief economist atATBFinancial.

"So the things that are nice to have but you don'treally need them in a tough economic time."

In Saskatchewan, retail sales fell3.3 per cent overall, while in Manitoba they were down 0.9 per cent.

Ontario saw a0.8 per cent increasein July, driven largely by new car sales.

Retail sales were also up by 0.9 per centin British Columbia and0.2 per cent in Quebec.

Nationwide, sales weredown 0.1 per cent to$44.1billion.

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