By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - Canada's manufacturing sales fell 0.7% to $71.2 billion in December 2023, according to figures released Thursday by the country's statistical agency.
The market expectation for the figure was to show a decrease of 0.6%.
Manufacturing sales for November 2023 were revised up from a gain of 1.2% to an increase of 1.5%.
The decline in December was led by sales of motor vehicles, which decreased 13.5% to $4.4 billion, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline and the lowest level since December 2022.
"On a quarterly basis, sales declined 1.6% to $213.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, following a 1.3% increase in the third quarter," Statistics Canada said in a statement.
"In current dollars, total manufacturing sales increased 1.1% to $862.8 billion in 2023, following a 17.9% increase in 2021 and an 18.1% gain in 2022," it added.