Investing.com - Canadian housing starts declined more than expected in February, fuelling concerns over the health of the real estate market, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts decreased to 156,300 units last month from January's total of 187,000 units.
Analysts had expected Canadian housing starts to dip to 179,000 units in February.
“The trend in housing starts decreased for a fifth consecutive month in February and reflects a decreasing trend in multiple starts,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre.
USD/CAD was trading at 1.2593 following the release of the data from around 1.2585 before.