Australia Building Approvals Rise 4.2% In October

(RTTNews) - The total number of building permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 4.2 percent on month in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday - coming in at 15,498.

That beat forecasts for a gain of 1.2 percent following the upwardly revised 5.8 percent increase in September (originally 4.4 percent).

Permits for private sector houses sank 5.2 percent on month to 9,191, while permits for private sector dwellings excluding houses surged 24.8 percent to 5,859.

The value of total residential building rose 3.2 percent to A$8.33 billion, while the value of non-residential building fell 13.4 percent to A$4.89 billion.