Canada November new housing inflation edges up to 1.7 percent

OTTAWA (Reuters) - New home prices in Canada rose 0.1 percent in November from October as expected, while year-on-year new housing inflation accelerated to 1.7 percent from 1.6 percent in the previous month, according to Statistics Canada data published on Thursday.

The monthly increase was in line with the median forecast of economists in a Reuters survey.

The top contributor to the monthly rise was the Alberta oil town of Calgary, where new housing prices rose 0.3 percent despite a steep decline in the price of crude, which has put a damper on the provincial economy. New housing in Calgary is 6.5 percent more expensive than a year earlier.

The country's largest metropolitan area, Toronto-Oshawa, rose 0.1 from October, and the year-on-year increase held at 2.5 percent.

The new housing price index excludes apartments and condominiums, which the government says are a particular cause for concern and which account for one-third of new housing.

New home prices fell 0.2 percent in Vancouver on the month and 0.6 percent on the year. Ottawa-Gatineau was down 0.1 percent on the month and 1.0 percent on the year.

(Reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)