Canadian building permits rose unexpectedly in June, the third gain in four months, due to new projects for hotels and laboratories. Residential construction plans increased for the fourth straight month.
The total value of permits issued by municipalities advanced 1 percent to $5.19 billion, Statistics Canada said today. Economists surveyed forecast a drop of 3 percent, the median of 15 estimates. The agency revised May’s gain to 17.5 percent from the 14.8 percent originally reported.
The data may indicate that the recession that began last year is easing after the Bank of Canada cut its benchmark lending rate to a record 0.25 percent. The central bank estimated in July that housing will cut 0.6 percentage points from growth this year. That’s more optimistic than an April forecast of a 1.1 percentage point drop in housing activity this year.
Permits for non-residential construction rose 1.5 percent to $2.51 billion, the agency said. The gain was led by an 11 percent jump in commercial buildings to $1.3 billion, which was attributable to new plans for hotels and laboratories in Ontario, Statistics Canada said.
Institutional permits dropped 6.2 percent to $902 million, while the value of industrial permits was down 7.1 percent to $332 million, Statistics Canada said.
Residential permits increased 0.5 percent to $2.68 billion, as single-family homes posted a gain of 3.6 percent to $1.7 billion. The value of permits for multiple-unit dwellings fell 4.1 percent to $1 billion, the agency said.
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