Japan's housing starts growth accelerated more than expected in March, while construction orders received by big contractors declined after surging in February.
Housing starts grew at a pace of 7.3 percent from a year ago, faster than the 3 percent increase seen in February and 5 percent growth in January, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said Tuesday. The increase also exceeded a 6 percent rise forecast by economists.
Meanwhile, the number of annualized dwelling units decreased to 904,000 from 944,000 in the previous month and stayed below the consensus forecast of 890,000.
Data showed that construction orders received by 50 big constructors declined 3.4 percent year-on-year, reversing the 16.3 percent increase logged in February.
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