Canadian building permits tumble

Overall building intentions in Canada fell back 2.5 percent on a monthly basis to $6.8 billion in June, Statistics Canada reported from Ottawa Tuesday. The decline followed a robust monthly gain of 7.1 percent increase in May. A 4.2 percent gain was seen in residential building permits in June, up to $4.4 billion. Municipalities across the country approved the construction of 19,605 new dwellings, up 4.1 percent from May. However, "the value of institutional building permits dropped 45.9 percent to $519 million in June, following a 72 percent gain the previous month," StatsCan said. "The value of commercial building permits was $1.5 billion in June, up 6.8 percent, following a 12.9 percent decrease in May," the agency said. "The advance was largely attributable to construction intentions for recreational facilities in Ontario."