Australia and Canada Report Strong Service Sector PMI

The AiG Performance of Services Index surged to 54.5 from 49.5 - signaling expansion in the sector for the first time in four months. Meanwhile, the TD Securities Inflation Index pointed to building price pressures as the figure accelerated 0.2 percent for the month and 3.4 percent year over year.  In Canada, Ivey PMI surged to a seven month high of 62.2 from 53.8 during the month prior. A breakdown of the data shows that nearly all of the components improved, with the employment index edging back above 50 while the price index jumped to the highest level since August 2006. With the sector performing well once again and last Friday's release of Q4 GDP hotter than expected at 1.4%, Canadian expansion appears to be on a steady track and should keep the Bank of Canada maintaining a neutral bias at their MPC meeting this week.