OTTAWA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Canada's retail sales in June rose as expected as shoppers bought more food and beverages, official data showed on Friday, indicating a rebound from a slump the month before.
Retail sales in June increased by 1.5% on a monthly basis to C$70.25 billion ($50.49 billion) compared with a contraction of 1.1% in May, Statistics Canada said, adding that sales increased by a similar rate in volume terms as well.
The outcome was in line with analyst expectations in a Reuters poll.
However, excluding sales at automobiles and parts dealers, retail sales rose 1.9%, beating the poll forecast of 1.1%.
In a flash estimate - often prone to changes - Statscan projected that retail sales in July would fall 0.8%.
Retail sales, which include sales of cars, furniture, food, gasoline and many other items, are considered an early indicator of gross domestic product growth and contribute around 40% to total consumer spending, a prime contributor to economic growth.
($1=$1.3914 Canadian)
Reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Dale Smith. Editing by Mark Potter
