The Canadian dollar slipped on Friday after official figures showed a considerable month-on-month decline in December retail sales.

According to fresh data released by Statistics Canada, retail sales in December slipped 1.8 per cent from the previous month.  On a seasonally adjusted basis, home furnishings and furniture stores suffered a month-on-month decline of 7.8 per cent in sales; while sales of new cars fell 3.6 per cent in the month under review.

Sales of electronics and appliances slipped 13.1 per cent from the previous month.  During the Christmas shopping period, retailers of clothing and sporting goods also saw a decline in sales volumes.

The decline in retail sales drop was much larger than analysts' average projected decline of 0.4 per cent.

In response to the weak sales data, the Canadian dollar slipped by 0.28 cents against the US dollar to close at 89.82 cents on Friday.

Harsh ice storms prior to Christmas and other bad weather conditions discouraged consumers from visiting retail stores.

The report released by Statistics Canada said, "Most store types typically associated with the holiday shopping period registered weaker sales in December.  Extreme weather conditions throughout the country were a factor."

The weak retail sales figures will likely weigh on economic growth figures.  Analysts have already portrayed a bleak picture of December GDP, saying it would likely come in at -0.5 per cent month over month.