Japan Housing Starts Rise More Than Forecast

(RTTNews) - The number of houses authorized for construction in Japan rose 6.8% from a year earlier in November to just under 73,000, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said on Monday.

That was higher than the 5.1% rise forecast by analysts after the 6.4% rise in October.

Separately, the ministry said the value of orders received by construction firms dropped 1.1% year-on-year in November to 3.2 trillion yen.

That followed a 1.3% fall in October and a 7.3% decline in September.