Australia Building Consents Slump In August

(RTTNews) - The total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 6.0 percent on month in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at 14,744.

That was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 2.5 percent following the downwardly revised 10.0 percent drop in July (originally -8.2 percent).

On a yearly basis, approvals rose 3.0 percent - again missing forecasts for a gain of 8.3 percent following the upwardly revised 9.2 percent gain in the previous month (originally 8.3 percent).

Approvals for private sector houses fell 2.6 percent on month and 3.5 percent on year, while approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses dropped 8.1 percent on month but jumped 16.3 percent on year.

The value of total residential building fell 3.1 percent to A$9.17 billion.