Australia Building Approvals Jump 10.4% In July

(RTTNews) - The total number of building permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 10.4 percent on month in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday - coming in at 14,797.

That beat forecasts for an increase of 2.4 percent following the 6.5 percent contraction in June.

Permits for private sector houses rose 0.6 percent on month to 9,252, while permits for private sector dwellings excluding houses surged 32.1 percent to 5,234.

The value of total residential building rose 9.0 percent to A$8.49 billion, while the value of non-residential building added 3.2 percent to A$4.69 billion.