Retail sales fell 0.3 percent to $65.7 billion in June, as sales at new car dealerships fell, according to Statistics Canada.

Core retail sales, excluding petrol stations, fuel retailers and motor vehicle and parts dealers, rose 0.4 percent in June.

Sales at car and parts dealers fell by 2.1 percent. Sales at new car dealers fell by 2.9 percent and at used car dealers by 0.6 percent.

Katherine Judge, senior economist at CIBC, said in a note to clients Friday that sales at many dealers in Canada and the United States were likely hampered by a cyberattack in the last week of June that disrupted critical financing software.

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Meanwhile, food and beverage retailers reported a 1.2 percent increase in sales, while supermarkets and other grocery stores excluding convenience stores saw sales growth of 1.8 percent.

In terms of volume, total retail sales rose by 0.1 percent in June.

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According to Statistics Canada, the preliminary estimate for retail sales in July represents an increase of 0.6 percent for the month. However, it cautioned that this figure is subject to revision.

— with files from Global News