The total number of building approvals in Australia plummeted a seasonally adjusted 8.7 percent on month in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, coming in at 10,330.
That was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent following the downwardly revised gain of 6.0 percent.
The annual figures were even worse, plummeted 24.1 percent - missing by a mile forecasts for a decline of 13.8 percent after plunging a downwardly revised 15.8 percent in the previous month.
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