Japan's housing starts grew much faster than forecast in May, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism revealed Friday.
Housing starts rose 14.5 percent year-on-year in May, compared with an expected 6.1 percent gain. In April, housing starts were up 5.8 percent from a year earlier.
Annualized housing starts totaled 1.027 million in May, higher than 939,000 in April. This also exceeded forecast of 950,000.
Further, data showed that construction orders received by big 50 contractors picked up sharply in May, rising by 26 percent year-on-year. This followed a meager 2 percent gain in April and a 3.4 percent drop in March.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.