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Australia building approvals decline in August
Approvals to build new homes in Australia fell at their fastest pace in almost a year, as the impact of a surge in public housing approvals wore off.
Building approvals slumped 6.9 per cent in August from July, which was below expectations for a 2 per cent decline. That was the biggest drop since a 13.2 per cent contraction in September last year.
However, July’s building approvals were revised higher to 7.9 per cent from 4.2 per cent previously, making it the strongest pace since October last year.
Year-on-year, approvals increased by 5.1 per cent in August, which was also cooler than economists’ expectations for a 7.4 per cent gain. However, much like the monthly pace, the July figure was revised higher to 17.9 per cent from 13.4 per cent previously.
Those swings came as a result of big moves in the public housing category, with 888 approvals in July. There were 347 made in June, a number more in line with levels so far this year, but dropping to 176 in August. Growth in approvals for private dwellings, though, shrank in August from the previous month, and slowed from a year earlier.
The Australian dollar briefly fell against the US dollar in reaction to the data and fell to an Asian session low of $0.6995 before recovering again to rise back above the key $0.70 level.
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