A steep drop in gasoline prices and slumping auto sales drove the total value of retail sales down 1.2% in September, Statistics Canada said today.

The September decline limited third-quarter performance to about half the rate of the previous two quarters, StatsCan said.

Annual sales growth was limited to 1.3% in the third quarter following back-to-back quarterly increases of 2.4%.

Retail sales fell to about $32.9 billion in September from $33.3 billion in August, the year’s largest monthly decline.

Sales in the automotive sector fell 5.2% in September while gasoline prices plummeted 17.4%, causing a record monthly decline of 12.5% in the value of gasoline sales.

The government agency said that most of the decline in September was due to lower sales at gasoline stations and new car dealers. Excluding the automotive sector, retail sales actually increased by 1%.

The overall decline was partly offset by considerable gains in the clothing and accessories stores sector (up 6.3%), as well as smaller gains by miscellaneous retailers (2.2), general merchandise stores (1.2), pharmacies and personal care stores (0.7) and food-and-beverage stores (0.2).

Sales by furniture, home furnishings and electronics stores were flat in September after four months of advances, while sales fell for the first time in five months among building and outdoor home supplies stores, which fell 0.7%.