30.06.202007:34:00UTC+00Japan Housing Starts Continue Sharp Fall

Japan's housing starts continued to fall sharply in May, though at a softer pace, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed on Tuesday.

Housing starts decreased 12.3 percent year-on-year in May, following a 12.9 percent fall in April. Economists had forecast an annual decline of 15.9 percent.

Annualized housing starts increased to 807,000 in May from 797,000 in the previous month.

Data also showed that construction orders received by the big 50 contractors fell 6.1 percent yearly in May, following a 14.2 percent decrease in April.