Australia Building Permits, Profits Drop, Sending Currency Lower
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Australian home-building approvals unexpectedly fell for a second month in January, led by a slump in apartments, while company profits dropped in the fourth quarter as earnings weakened at mining and manufacturing firms.
The number of permits granted to build or renovate houses and apartments declined 2.4 percent from December, when they fell a revised 1.7 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. The median forecast was for a 2.8 percent gain in a Bloomberg survey of 21 economists. Gross operating profits dropped 1 percent from the third quarter, matching estimates.