08.04.202005:28:00UTC+00Australia Housing Loans Fall Unexpectedly In February

Australia's housing loans declined in February, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday.

The value of new loan commitments for housing fell 1.7 percent in February, confounding expectations for an increase of 2 percent.

New loan commitments for both owner occupier housing and investor housing were down 1.7 percent and 1.9 percent respectively.

The statistical office said there was no notable impact of the coronavirus, or COVID-19 on new lending commitments for February.

The reference period fell at a point where there was only a relatively low number of confirmed COVID-19 cases within Australia and before it was declared a global pandemic.

Another report from ABS showed that building approvals decreased 5.8 percent in February from the previous year.