Japanese housing starts beat forecasts in August

Japan’s housing starts grew more than expected in August, rising for the sixth consecutive month, official data released on Wednesday showed.

According to the Ministry of Land of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, housing starts grew 8.8% year-on-year in August, faster than the 7.6% increase analysts had expected and faster than the 7.4% rise registered in July.

Annualised housing starts rose from 914,000 to 931,000, exceeding consensus for a 920,000 reading.

Meanwhile, the report added that orders received by contractors slumped 15.6% year-on-year, following a 4% slide in July.