OTTAWA, July 7 (Reuters) - The value of Canadian building
permits issued in May dropped 1.9 percent from April, in part
due to sharply weaker construction intentions in
energy-producing Alberta, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 2.0 percent
increase. Statscan revised April's drop of 0.3 percent to a rise
of 0.1 percent.
In Alberta, where a slump in oil prices has badly hit the
province's economy, the value of permits dropped by 22.5 percent
after increasing by 26.9 percent in April. Every component
posted a decline apart from single-family dwellings.
Nationwide, residential building permits declined by 1.1
percent on a 7.2 percent slide in construction intentions for
single-family dwellings. Permits for multi-family dwellings
increased by 7.1 percent.
The overall value of non-residential permits fell by 3.3
percent on lower construction intentions for commercial
structures.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic - Canada building permits http://link.reuters.com/det73t
Graphic - Canada economic dashboard http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/sc-canada/index.html
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>