ISTANBUL

Retail sales in Canada fell 0.6% month-on-month in January, as US President Donald Trump's tariff policies continue to target the country, said official data from Statistics Canada on Friday.

Sales in January totaled 69.4 billion Canadian dollars ($48.4 billion), and the monthly change figure came below the market forecast of a 0.4% fall.

Sales were down in three of nine subsectors, led by decreases in the motor vehicle and parts dealers sector, down 2.6%, the largest drop.

The biggest monthly increase was in gasoline stations and fuel vendors (+3.2%), marking the fourth consecutive monthly rise.

Core retail sales, which exclude gas stations and car dealers, were down 0.2% in January. In volume terms, retail sales fell 1.1%, the biggest slide in two years.

"Sales at food and beverage retailers were down mainly on lower sales at supermarkets and other grocery retailers (except convenience retailers), which fell 3.4% in January,” said Statistics Canada.

With an advance estimate, the statistics office added that retail sales would fall 0.4% monthly in February.

Trump's tariff policies continue to cause uncertainty, as Canada is one of the countries specifically targeted by Trump's trade policies.

The US president announced 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, among other measures, but postponed those tariffs until April 2.