Canadian housing starts jump 30% in April, CMHC says

TORONTO (Reuters) -Canadian housing starts rose 30% in April compared with the previous month, a far bigger increase than was expected, data from the national housing agency showed on Thursday.

The seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of housing starts climbed to 278,606 units from a revised 214,205 units in March, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said. Economists had expected starts to rise to 227,500.

(Reporting by Fergal SmithEditing by Tomasz Janowski)