Canada manufacturing sales rise less than forecast

Manufacturing sales in Canada rose at a monthly rate of 1.1% in April, compared with a preliminary estimate of a 1.2% growth, and following a revised up 1.8% decline in March.

An increase in sales was observed in 12 out of the 21 subsectors, led by primary metals (+4.7%), transportation equipment (+4.1%) and chemical products (+4%).

Meanwhile, sales in the aerospace industry dropped the most, by 6.8%.

In annual terms, manufacturing sales in the country dropped 1% in April, data by Statistics Canada showed.

The USD/CAD currency pair settled 0.06% lower at 1.3733 on Friday. For the week, the major currency pair went down 0.23%, as it reversed a gain from the prior week.