A man pushes a trolley full of Dell computers in this file photo. Statscan says April wholesale sales rose 0.2 per cent in April, helped by computer sales.BABU/Reuters
Statistics Canada says wholesale sales rose 0.2 per cent in April to $49-billion, mainly as a result of higher sales in the computer and communications equipment and supplies industry.
The agency says sales were up 0.4 per cent in volume terms.
In April, three of the seven subsectors, accounting for about half of wholesale sales, reported increases.
The largest gain in dollar terms was in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector, which rose 2.6 per cent because of a 10.4 per cent advance in the computer and communications equipment and supplies industry.
Wholesalers in five provinces reported higher sales for April, with New Brunswick posting the largest percentage increase at 5.1 cent.
The largest decline came in Saskatchewan, where sales slipped 3.5 per cent.