Canada March wholesale trade climbs 0.9 percent to hit record

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The value of Canadian wholesale trade grew by 0.9 percent in March from February to hit a record, pushed up by demand for building materials and supplies, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.

Statscan revised February's data to a 0.3 percent increase from an initial 0.2 percent decline and slashed January's growth to 1.7 percent from 3.0 percent.

Stripping out the effect of prices, March volumes were up 0.6 percent. Overall, sales gained in four out of seven subsectors, accounting for 60 percent of wholesale trade.

Wholesale trade in building materials and supplies jumped 3.9 percent on higher sales of lumber, millwork and hardware as well as metal services. Food, beverage and tobacco sales advanced 1.1 percent.

Two major subsectors reported slight falls. Sales of machinery and supplies dipped 0.5 percent while motor vehicles and parts edged down 0.2 percent.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren Editing by W Simon)