Australia Building Approvals Add 0.7% In December

(RTTNews) - The total number of building permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday - coming in at 15,174.

That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.9 percent following the upwardly revised 3.4 percent decline in November (Originally -3.6 percent).

On a yearly basis, building permits climbed 5.6 percent following the upwardly revised 7/1 percent jump in the previous month (originally 6.0 percent).

Permits for private sector houses fell 3.0 percent on month and 1.8 percent on year to 8,715, while permits for private sector dwellings excluding houses surged 15.2 percent on month and 42.7 percent on year.

The value of total building approved rose 3.5 percent to A$14.94 billion following a 6.6 percent rise in November.