Statistics Canada announced on Thursday that the value of building permits issued by the Canadian municipalities increased 2.1 percent m-o-m in February, following a revised 6.9 percent m-o-m surge in January (originally a climb of 8.2 percent m-o-m). 

Economists had forecast a 1.4 percent decrease in February from the previous month.

According to the report, the value of residential permits fell 2.9 percent m-o-m in February, as single-family permits decreased 1.0 percent m-o-m and permits for multi-family dwellings plunged 4.9 percent m-o-m.

At the same time, the value of non-residential building permits surged 14.2 percent m-o-m in February, due to gains in institutional (+27.9 percent m-o-m), commercial (+11.4 percent m-o-m) and industrial (+1.9 percent m-o-m) permits.

In y-o-y terms, building permits climbed 20.5 percent in February.