Japan November Housing Starts Fall More Than Expected

(RTTNews) - Japan's housing starts declined more-than-expected in November, figures from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed Thursday.

Housing starts dropped 14.3 percent annually after a 12.3 percent fall in the previous month. Economists had expected a 12.8 percent decline.

The annualized housing starts totaled 888,000 units in November versus 904,000 in October. Economists had forecast 898,000 units.

Orders received by the big 50 constructors grew 16.9 percent annually in November, which was faster than the 15.7 percent increase in the previous month. Orders grew for a second straight month and the latest gain was the fastest in four months.