The Canadian Statistics Agency says that manufacturing sales fell by 2.0 percent, to 70.4 billion dollars last August, with a decrease in petroleum and coal sales due to price declines. The agency added that it was the fourth consecutive month that manufacturing sales have declined. Petroleum and coal sales also fell by 3.9 percent to 9.9 billion dollars in August, while chemical industry sales decreased by 4.5 percent to 5.6 billion dollars. In addition, total sales in constant dollars declined by 1.7 percent in August, indicating a decrease in the volume of goods sold in the same month. On the other hand, in a separate report, the Canadian Statistics Agency said that wholesale sales in August increased by 1.4 percent to reach a new high of 81.3 billion dollars, driven by gains in the miscellaneous goods sub-sector, which rose by 3.9 percent to 12.8 billion dollars. In the same context, wholesale sales in constant dollar value rose by 1.2 percent in August. It is noted that these indicators measure the change in the total value of manufacturers' sales on a monthly basis in Canada. The manufacturing sales index is one of the leading indicators to measure the health of the economy, and manufacturers are usually affected by market conditions; their sales rate change serves as an early indicator of future activity such as spending, investment, and employment.