OTTAWA - Retail sales rose 0.6 per cent in December to about $35.1 billion on the strength of sales by new car dealers.
And Statistics Canada reports that retailers sold about $412.2 billion worth of goods and services in 2007, up 5.8 per cent over 2006.
December's monthly rise was the third in four months for retail sales, and helped make 2007 the year with the second highest retail growth rate since 2002.
Sales in the automotive sector, up 3.2 per cent, accounted for most of the December increase.
Excluding two of the sector's components -- new car dealers and used and recreational motor vehicles and parts dealers -- retail sales fell 0.4 per cent in December, the first decrease in five months.
The agency reports holiday sales got off to a hot start in November, but lost steam quickly, leaving traditional Christmas retailers with disappointing sales in December.
Clothing and accessory stores were down 2.7 per cent, miscellaneous retailers dropped 1.2, furniture, home furnishings and electronics stores fell 1.1 and food and beverage stores slipped 0.8, while building- and outdoor home-supplies stores dipped 1.2.
After November posted the biggest jump in monthly sales since early 2007, general merchandise stores faced only moderate 0.5 per cent growth in December while, at 0.1 per cent, sales at pharmacies and personal-care stores continued to stagnate.
When price changes are taken into account, retail sales in constant dollars rose 0.5 per cent in December.
Retailers posted a 1.2 per cent increase in sales in the fourth quarter, mainly due to a 2.9 per cent hike in sales in the automotive sector.
A 4.4 per cent increase in December sales by new car dealers was primarily attributable to truck sales, which were up 7.7 per cent.
Retail sales in Canada's three largest cities lagged behind the national average. Retail sales in Toronto were up 5.4 per cent; Vancouver sale climbed 5.3, while Montreal came in at a 3.2 per cent growth.
Saskatchewan dominated provincial retail sales in 2007 as its retail sales surged 12.9 per cent, almost double the previous year's growth and the province's biggest retail growth since 1991.
Once-dominant Alberta ranked fourth among the provinces in 2007, with a nine per cent rise in retail sales, trailing record 9.4 per cent growth in both Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador.
