23 January 2012 at 14:36 GMT
For a second straight month, the Canadian Leading Indicators Composite Index showed very strong growth, rising 0.8 percent in December following an upward revised 0.9 percent in November. Consensus had only expected an increase of 0.6 percent. The annual growth rate of the index accelerated to 6.4 percent from 6 percent earlier and stands at the highest rate since May 2011 when it recorded 6.8 percent.
The increase of 0.8 percent in December was driven by Durable Goods Orders and Shipments-to-Inventories, both of which rose 1 percent. The average workweek also improved robustly by 0.8 percent. The TSX 300 stock market index was the worst performer, losing 1.6 percent in December followed by Furniture and Applications Sales at -1.1 percent.
