Wholesale sales rose 2% to $45.2 billion in June, their fifth increase in six months, Statistics Canada reported today.

After removing the effect of price changes, sales in constant dollars increased one% during the month. June’s increase was largely a result of higher demand for automotive products, where wholesale sales were up 0.4%.

Six of the seven wholesale sectors reported higher sales in June, the only decline coming in the “other products” sector.

Sales in the automotive products sector increased 10.6% in June to $7.8 billion, after declines in five of the previous six months.

Sales of motor vehicles were particularly strong, rising 11.9%, while demand for motor vehicle parts and accessories grew six%.

The increase in the automotive sector gave a boost to Ontario, where wholesale sales rose 4.2% in June to $22.6 billion.

South of the border, U.S. producer prices unexpectedly soared at their highest annual rate in 27 years.

The producer price index for finished goods jumped 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, the U.S. Labour Department said today. It soared 9.8% from the previous year, the highest annual increase since June 1981.

The core index, which excludes food and energy, climbed 0.7% last month and rose 3.5% from a year ago, a 17-year high.

Economists had expected only a 0.5% increase in the overall index and 0.2% core rise.

Meanwhile, home construction in the United States plummeted during July. Housing starts decreased 11% last month to a seasonally adjusted 965,000 annual rate, the U.S. Commerce Department said today. Single-family home groundbreakings also fell.

Economists had expected July starts to drop by 11.8% to a 940,000-unit annual rate. The 965,000-unit rate was the lowest since 921,000 in March 1991.