Australia Building Permits Climb 1.9% In March

(RTTNews) - The total number of building permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent on month in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - coming in at 12,947.

That was in line with expectations following the 0.9 percent decline in February.

Private house approvals gained 3.8 percent to 8,891 - again matching forecasts following the 12.4 percent surge in the previous month.

Private sector dwellings excluding houses rose 3.6 percent to 3,936.

On a yearly basis, total approvals fell 2.2 percent.

The value of total building approved rose 15.9 percent, following a 16.8 percent February decrease.