Economic Buzz: Japan housing starts plunge 26.6% in April

Japan's housing starts decreased sharply in April after a surge in the previous month, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism showed on Friday.

Housing starts slumped 26.6 percent year-on-year in April, reversing a 39.1 percent growth in March.

Data showed that new construction was decreased in all categories except issued ones. The decline was more evident in the built-for-sale category, which tumbled by 29.7 percent.

There was also a sharp decrease of 26.6 percent and 27.9 percent, respectively, in the owned and rented segments.

Data also showed that construction orders received by the big 50 contractors jumped 52.7 percent annually in April, after a 3.5 percent rebound a month ago.

Powered by Commodity Insights