TORONTO, March 4 (Reuters) – Canadian building permits and purchasing data came in weaker than expected on Thursday, while consumer confidence edged higher, suggesting the country’s road to recovery remains spotted with bumps.

The data had little impact on the Canadian dollar and government bond markets, which were looking past the secondary economic figures to the presentation of the Canadian federal budget later in the day and to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
The value of Canadian building permits fell 4.9 percent in January from December 2009 due to a 21 percent drop in the issue of nonresidential building permits, Statistics Canada said. Market analysts, on average, had expected a 0.9 percent increase in January over December.
But the report also showed the value of permits in the residential sector increased by 4.1 percent, indicating that housing is still a key cog in the recovery wheel. [Read More]