Australia Building Permits Shed 6.0% In October

The total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 6.0 percent on month in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday – coming in at 15,382.

That missed expectations for a decline of 1.8 percent following the 5.8 percent contraction in September.

On a yearly basis, permits were down 6.4 percent after tumbling 13.0 percent in the previous month.

Permits for private sector houses fell 2.2 percent on month and 11.3 percent on year to 9.430, while permits for dwellings excluding houses dropped 11.3 percent on month and rose 5.5 percent on year to 5.781.

The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of total building approved fell 0.2 percent in October, following a 7.1 percent decrease in September.