Canada Dec retail sales up

OTTAWA, Feb 22 (Reuters): Canada's December retail sales slightly beat expectations as people spent more on cars, food and beverages, and at supermarkets during the holiday season, data showed on Thursday, but likely declined at the start of the year.
Retail sales grew by 0.9 per cent in December from November, more than a forecast for a 0.8 per cent gain, from a flat reading in November, which was upwardly revised from -0.2 per cent previously, Statistics Canada said.
January's preliminary estimate pointed to a 0.4 per cent decline on the month, Statscan said.
"We continue to expect the Canadian economy to slow in the first half of this year as more households feel the impact of higher interest rates," said Tiago Figueiredo, an economist with Desjardins Group, in a note.