Canada December retail sales down 0.4%; seen up 1.5% in January

OTTAWA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Canadian retail sales decreased by 0.4% in December to C$70 billion ($51.14 billion) on a monthly basis, led by a drop in sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

Sales were down in three of the nine subsectors with the building materials category and furniture, electronics and appliances retailers category also reporting a drop in sales. Sales at fuel pumps helped offset some of the fall, StatsCan said.

In volume terms, retail sales were unchanged in December.

Retail sales, which include domestic sales of cars, furniture, food and gasoline, are considered an early indicator of gross domestic product growth and contribute around 40% to total consumer spending.

• Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and the motor vehicle and parts dealers, were down 0.3% in December.

• The motor vehicles and parts dealers' category, which accounts for over a fourth of total retail sales, fell by 1.6% to C$18.71 billion.

• The second biggest contributor to retail sales is the food and beverage retailer category. Sales were unchanged in December in this subsector.

• Building materials dropped by 4% and the furniture and appliances category registered a 1.7% month-on-month drop.

• In January, sales were likely up 1.5% but this number is likely to be updated next month, the agency said in a flash estimate.

($1 = 1.3687 Canadian dollars)