Canada July retail sales rise 0.3 percent, lifted by gas, food

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian retail trade rose 0.3 percent in July from June, pushed up by higher sales at food and drink stores as well as gasoline stations, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 0.4 percent gain. Stripping out the effect of price changes, volumes dipped by 0.1 percent. Sales at food and beverage stores increased 1.3 percent while gasoline stations reported a 1.9 percent gain amid higher prices at the pump. Sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers fell 1.4 percent, the second month-on-month decline in a row, thanks to a 2.2 percent drop in business at new car dealers. In eight of 11 subsectors, sales climbed, representing 54.8 percent of total retail trade. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Bernadette Baum)