2012.05.07 14:30:01 *Canada Building Permits +4.7% In Mar From Feb

8:31 (Dow Jones) The Canadian dollar has shifted back into its well-worn trading groove near par after touching a 7-month high when the US dollar fell to C$0.9799 on April 27; it's currently at C$0.9963. Scotiabank pegs the loonie's retreat mainly on the weak US employment data, but while oil and the currency haven't been that correlated of late, crude falling below $100/barrel isn't helpful for the Canadian dollar, either. "Finally, after pricing in aggressive interest hikes in Canada after Governor Carney shifted the [Bank of Canada's] stance to hawkish, the market is increasingly paring back its expectations, pricing in just a 50% chance" the next 9 months, Scotia adds. (don.curren@dowjones.com) Call us at (212) 416-2354 or email kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires May 07, 2012 08:32 ET (12:32 GMT)