The Canadian dollar is modestly lower despite a higher-than-expected result in October's Canadian housing starts release on Monday. Canada's new home industry remained surprisingly robust in October, with new housing starts running at 211,800 on an annual basis, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported Monday. The number of starts was higher than the consensus estimate of 200,000, but down only 4.2% from September's 218,600. The loonie fell from 0.8534 against the U.S. dollar on the 8:15 a.m. EST release and is now up 0.0122 to 0.8530 and trending lower. The loonie owes much of its earlier gains to U.S. dollar weakness, with the greenback currently selling off against most majors. "With risk appetite returning overnight, USDCAD opened a lot lower today. We continue to gyrate in the recent 1.1600/1.2000 range needing either a break of 1.1465/1.1470 or 1.2025/1.205 to gain some new momentum," wrote TD Securities currency strategist Jacqueline Douglas. The Canadian dollar fell from 0.6620 levels against the euro on the Canadian data and is now down 0.0005 to 0.6606. Against the British pound sterling, the loonie is up 0.0027 to 0.5402. It had been at 0.5404 when the data came out. "The report is fairly consistent with our view that the Canadian housing market may have hit a soft patch, though the pace of adjustment has remained quite measured and orderly," wrote TD Economics strategist Millan Mulraine, who expects housing activity in Canada to drop off significantly from here on out. Regarding Asian-Pacific crosses, the Canadian dollar is up 2.03 points to 84.61 against the Japanese yen and down 0.0145 to 1.2328 against the Australian dollar. The CAD/AUD fell from 1.2330 levels on the data. CAD/USD up 0.0122 to 0.8530. CAD/EUR down 0.0005 to 0.6606. CAD/JPY up 2.03 to 84.61 CAD/GBP up 0.0027 to 0.5402. CAD/AUD down 0.0145 to 1.2328.

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