Statistics Canada announced on Friday that the Canadian retail sales rose 0.6 percent m-o-m to CAD52.86 billion in July, following an unrevised 23.7 percent m-o-m surge in June.

Economists had forecast a 1.0 percent m-o-m advance for July.

According to the report, sales increased in 6 of 11 subsectors in July, accounting for 48.6 percent of total retail sales. The motor vehicle and parts dealers subsector contributed the most to the sales advance in July, climbing 3.3 percent m-o-m.

Excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales fell 0.4 percent m-o-m in July compared to an unrevised 15.7 percent m-o-m climb in June and economists’ forecast for a 0.5 percent m-o-m gain. Excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations, retail sales decreased 1.2 percent m-o-m in July.

In y-o-y terms, Canadian retail sales grew 2.7 percent in July, following an unrevised 3.8 percent increase in June.