Japan’s housing starts decreased unexpectedly in December, after rising in the previous month, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed Friday.
Housing starts fell 1.3 percent year-over-year in December, defying economists’ expectations for a 0.5 percent increase. In November, it grew 1.7 percent.
The number of annualized housing starts decreased to 860,000 in December from 879,000 in the preceding month. It was expected to rise to 888,000.
Construction orders received by 50 big contractors grew 14.8 percent annually in December, much faster than the 5.7 percent spike a month earlier. It was the second successive monthly gain.
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