Forexpros – The number of new building permits issued in Canada plummeted in January, erasing the previous month’s strong gain, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Statistic Canada said the number of new building permits issued plunged by a seasonally adjusted 12.3% in January, worse than expectations for a 2.3% drop.
December’s figure was revised to a 10.5% increase from a previously reported 11.1% gain.
On an annualized rate, Canadian building permits rose at a rate of 11.6% in January from a year earlier, after rising 21.0% in December.
Municipalities issued building permits worth CAD6.0 billion in January.
The decline was the result of decreases in both residential and non-residential sectors.
Following the release of the data, the Canadian dollar was flat against its U.S. counterpart, with USD/CAD trading at 1.0018.
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