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Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales down 3.6 percent in February

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 3.6 percent to $71.5 billion in February, as sales of petroleum and coal products helped lead the drop.

The agency says the decline followed a revised 4.5 percent increase in January. The initial reading for the first month of the year had been for a gain of 4.1 percent.

The drop in February came as 12 of the 21 industries tracked saw moves lower.

Sales of petroleum and coal products fell 14.9 percent to $8.8 billion in February as sales volumes dropped 8.3 percent.

Meanwhile, sales of motor vehicles fell 12.3 percent to $4.2 billion in February and primary metals declined 4.2 percent to $5.6 billion. Sales in the machinery industry rose 3.0 percent to $4.6 billion.

In constant dollars, Statistics Canada says overall manufacturing sales decreased 2.4 percent in February.