31.07.201801:56:00UTC+00Japan Housing Starts Fall More Than Forecast

Japan's housing starts declined at a faster-than-expected rate in June, after rising in the previous two months, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism revealed Tuesday.

Housing starts fell notably by 7.1 percent annually in June, reversing a 1.3 percent rise in May. That was well above the 3.0 percent drop economists had forecast.

Annualized housing starts decreased to 915,000 from 996,000 in the previous month.

Data also showed that construction orders received by big 50 contractors dipped 6.5 percent year-on-year in June, much slower than the 18.7 percent plunge in May.