Biggest Fall in 16 Years

Just when the market had anticipated Australian construction had hit “peak weakness”, activity has posted its biggest fall in 16 years, ABC reported. On seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, construction work fell sharply by 4.9% in the September quarter, far worse than consensus expectations of a 1.6% slide. It represents the third consecutive quarter in decline. On an annualized basis, construction work is down 11%, a further slowing from the 9% slump for the June quarter. The weakness was broadly based, including disappointing activity in residential building and non-residential construction as well as the ongoing contraction in large scale engineering work in the resources sector.