Australia: Building approvals fell 15.5% in March - ANZ

Sandeep Kanihama FXStreet Contributor

ANZ analysts note that the Australian residential building approvals fell 15.5% m/m in March, following a 19.1% increase in February.

Key Quotes

“The drop in approvals was driven by private sector units, which declined 30.6% after jumping 64.5% in February. The decline in house approvals slowed in March, at only 3.1% m/m, compared with a drop of 3.5% m/m in February. Dwelling approvals are down 27.3% y/y.”

“Unit approvals are driving a flatter trend in residential approvals. In trend terms, unit approvals have flattened out at around 6,000 per month since November. This is a moderation from the peak of the trend during 2016, but is still higher than long-run historical trends, at around 4,000 per month. Given population growth, we think a higher trend level is sustainable.”

“The value of non-residential approvals fell by 8.7% m/m in seasonally adjusted terms, bringing the annual change in the trend to -12.1% y/y.”

Author

Sandeep Kanihama

FXStreet Contributor

Sandeep Kanihama is an FX Editor and Analyst with FXstreet having principally focus area on Asia and European markets with commodity, currency and equities coverage. He is stationed in the Indian capital city of Delhi.

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