Australia Building Approvals Sink 1.9% In February

(RTTNews) - The total number of building approvals issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent on month in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - coming in at 12,520.

That missed expectations for an increase of 3.0 percent following the 1.0 percent drop in January.

On a yearly basis, overall approvals fell 5.8 percent.

Approvals for private sector dwellings jumped 10.7 percent on month and lost 1.3 percent on year at 8,404, while approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses plummeted 24.9 percent on month and 17.2 percent on year at 3,771.

The value of total building approved fell 16.5 percent, following a 14.5 percent January increase.