- Savanth Sebastian, economist at Commsec
The number of new homes approved for construction in Australia fell in February, but still remained near record levels. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 18,768 dwellings were approved in the reported month, recording a 3.2% decrease from the record high in January. However, measured on an annual basis, building approvals were more than 14% higher than in February 2014, beating expectations for an advance of 10.7% following the 9.1% increase in the previous month. Approvals for private sector houses declined 0.1% on month and 1.0% on year to 9,441. Private sector approvals excluding houses tumbled 6.0% on month but soared 36.2% on year to 9,102.
Meanwhile, a separate report showed Australia's trade deficit ballooned to its highest level in five months due to declining iron ore prices and the weaker Australian Dollar. The trade gap widened to a seasonally adjusted $1.26 billion in February, compared with an upwardly revised $1.00 billion in the preceding month. Exports inched higher by 1% to $27.9 billion in the month, while imports rose by 2% to $29.1 billion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. At the same time, consumer price inflation in the country climbed at the fastest pace in almost a year. The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute Australian Inflation Gauge ticked up by 0.4% in March after remaining flat a month earlier.
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