"Some of the data is coming out a little bit better than expected"
-Matthew Perrier, director of foreign exchange at Bank of Montreal.
Canadian building permits surged more-than-expected in March, jumping 8.6% to C$6.45 billion ($6.40 billion) following a revised 1.5% gain a month earlier. The increase was attributable to much stronger intentions in the non-residential construction and a rebound in multi-family housing, according to Statistics Canada on Monday. The reading outstripped analysts' estimation of a 1.3% rise. On an annual basis, building permits in Canada declined 6.7%, indicating a downtrend, which began in the autumn of last year.
"Some of the data is coming out a little bit better than expected," said Matthew Perrier, director of foreign exchange at Bank of Montreal.
"Canada's doing a little bit better—when it weakened off in the middle part of last month, it didn't weaken off quite as far as it did in March. The weakness is a little shallower with each move so that seems to be trending in Canada's favor."
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