Japan housing starts rebound in July; construction orders log a contraction

Housing starts in Japan rebounded during the month of July, while construction orders logged a double-digit contraction, official data released showed on Wednesday.

Housing starts expanded 8.9 percent in July from the prior year, in contrast to a 2.5 percent fall seen in June. The pace of growth was also faster than the 7.3 percent increase economists had expected, data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed today.

Moreover, the number of annualized housing starts improved slightly to 1.005 million from 1.004 million in June. The expected level was 0.99 million. The rise in housing starts remained well above what markets had earlier expected; a poll of 10 market participants forecasted a rise of 7.6 percent.

Meanwhile, construction orders received by 50 big contractors slid 10.9 percent year-on-year in July after easing 2.4 percent in June. This was the second consecutive fall in orders.