Canadian manufacturing sales rose by 1.4 per cent in May from April, thanks largely to strength in the chemicals and machinery industries, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 0.5 per cent increase. StatsCan revised April’s decline to 1.1 per cent from an initial 1.3 per cent drop.
Sales rose in 14 out of 21 industries, representing 64 per cent of total manufacturing sales. In volume terms, they advanced by 0.9 per cent.
Sales in the chemical industry increased by 6.2 per cent on increased shipments of pesticides and fertilizers while machinery sales grew by 8.9 per cent after three consecutive month-on-month declines.
The petroleum and coal product industry – continuing to grapple with shutdowns at several oil refineries for maintenance and retooling – posted a 1.8 per cent decline from April.
(Reuters)
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