Australia: Decline in Q3 construction activity – ANZ
|Catherine Birch, senior economist at ANZ, notes that construction activity in Australia fell 0.4% q/q in Q3 2019 to be down 7.0% y/y and was the smallest decline since the downward trend began in Q3 2018.
Key Quotes
“Residential construction (-3.1% q/q) continued to fall although the Q2 result was revised up to -3.9% from -5.1%. The annual decline has stretched to -10.6%. New residential building fell 3.5% q/q while alterations and additions were flat at -0.1% q/q. New South Wales was responsible for almost three-quarters of the quarterly drop in total residential work done, but Victoria achieved a 1.5% q/q gain.”
“Non-residential building jumped 4.0% q/q with both the public (+3.7% q/q) and private (+4.1% q/q) sectors contributing. Activity has been volatile in 2019, but the uplift in approvals looks to be starting to translate through to work done.”
“The expected upturn in mining does not appear to be flowing through to work done numbers yet, with private engineering construction falling 4.6% q/q. Public engineering construction recorded a solid 6.4% q/q gain, but we still expect activity to dip in 2019-20 as some major projects wind down before others get underway.”
“Construction work done is the first of the GDP partials. The better-than-expected result paints a slightly more positive picture for Q3 GDP growth (Wednesday 4 Dec).”
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.