Australia Building Approvals Rise As Estimated

(RTTNews) - The total number of building permits issued in Australia increased as initially estimated in January, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

Building consents climbed a seasonally adjusted 6.3 percent monthly to 16,579 units in January, much faster than the 1.7 percent gain in December. That was in line with the flash data published on March 6.

Permits for private sector houses rose 1.1 percent on month to 9,042, while consents for private sector dwellings excluding houses surged 12.7 percent to 7,213.

On a yearly basis, permits for private sector houses grew 8.9 percent, approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses rallied 41.6 percent, and overall permits were up 21.7 percent.