Japan Housing Starts Fall More Than Expected

Japan’s housing starts decreased more than expected in October, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed on Wednesday.

Housing starts declined 1.8 percent year-on-year in October, after a 1.1 percent growth in September. Economists had forecast an annual fall of 1.3 percent.

Housing starts dropped for the first time in three months.

Data also showed that construction orders received by big 50 contractors rose 7.9 percent yearly in October, after a 36.6 percent growth in September. This was the lowest in three months.