OTTAWA (CP) -- The rate of decline in the leading indicators' five-month average slowed to 1.1 percent in April from 1.5 percent in March.
Statistics Canada reports both financial components increased in March, as the money supply expanded steadily while the stock market turned up.
The agency says the index rose 0.5 over the month previous, after seven straight declines.
The indicators of household demand continued to descend.
The drop in the housing index eased to 1.2 percent, the smallest decline in seven months, as existing home sales firmed.
Sales of durable goods continued to retrench and the manufacturing indicators fell less rapidly than the month before.
New orders slowed to a 7.3 percent decrease while lower inventories helped moderate the rate of decline in the ratio of shipments to inventories.
Export demand benefited from a slower contraction of the U.S. economy. The leading indicator for the United States eased to a 0.3 percent drop, its smallest loss in six months.
