Canadian wholesalers shrugged off a lacklustre October in the automotive sector to register a second straight monthly increase, Statistics Canada reported today.

StatsCan said that building materials and personal and household goods drove a 0.5% rise in wholesale sales in October to $43.9 billion.

Four sectors reported stronger sales, led by a 2.4% gain in building materials and a 0.8% increase in the personal and household goods sector.

Sales in the automotive products sector slipped 0.3%.

Using constant dollars, which take price fluctuations into account, the overall volume of sales rose two% to $49.2 billion in October.

StatsCan noted that many wholesaler goods are imported, so the recent rise in the Canadian dollar against its U.S. counterpart has lowered prices and reduced the value of sales in current dollar.

The Canadian dollar appreciated 5.3% against the greenback in October.