Australia Building Approvals Sink 6.4% In October

(RTTNews) - The total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 6.4 percent on month in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at 15,832.

That missed expectations for a decline of 4.3 percent following the downwardly revised 11.1 percent jump in September (originally 12.0 percent).

On a yearly basis, approvals dipped1.8 percent - again shy of expectations for a gain of 12.4 percent following the 14.9 percent jump in the previous month.

Permit for private sector houses fell 2.1 percent on month and added 1.3 percent on year to 9,251, while permits for private sector dwellings excluding houses slumped 13.3 percent on month and 3.3 percent on year at 6,253.

The value of total residential building fell 11.8 percent to A$9.03 billion, while non-residential building rose 11.6 percent to A$7.13 billion.