Australia Building Permits Tumble 12.9% In October

(RTTNews) - The total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 12.9 percent on month in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - standing at 15,911.

That missed forecasts for a drop of 2.0 percent following the 4.3 percent decline in September.

Approvals for private sector houses rose 4.3 percent on month to 10,799, while permits for dwellings excluding houses plummeted 37.5 percent to 4,821.

On a yearly basis, total permits sank 8.1 percent, permits for houses fell 3.7 percent and permits for dwellings excluding houses dropped 16.5 percent.

The overall value of buildings approved was A$10.112 billion.