Housing starts in Japan registered a sharp decline at the start of this year, as the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism reported.
Japanese housing starts plunged 13.2% in January as compared to January 2017, faster than the 2.1% drop recorded in December.
Annualized housing starts totaled 856,000 compared to 936,000 in the previous month.
Construction orders received by big 50 contractors in Japan gained 0.9% annually, reversing an 8.1% fall in December.