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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