A strong showing from the housing sector allowed the struggling Canadian dollar to close higher on Thursday, while traders looked ahead to key employment data coming out on Friday, reports The Canadian Press.
The loonie experienced a slight increase, jumping 0.38 of a cent to 90.98 cents U.S. This came after a report from Statistics Canada which indicated that the total value of building permits issued by cities and towns across the country rose 8.5 per cent to $7 billion in January.
The increase exceeded the expectations of economists, who initially forecasted a 1.7 per cent increase. The 8.5 per cent surge that resulted followed a sluggish December, where building permits decreased by 4.8 per cent.
According to StatsCan, the increase in January was the direct result of higher construction intentions within the residential real estate sector, which was a key factor in offsetting a drop in the non-residential sector.
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