The pace of construction work done in Australia unexpectedly deteriorated during the March quarter of 2019.
The value of construction work done, a key component within the GDP reading, arrived at -1.9% q/q to a seasonally-adjusted A$ 50.79 millon in the three months to March 31, according to the latest data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Markets had predicted a 0.0% print while the previous figure stood at -3.1%.
MARCH KEY POINTS
VALUE OF WORK DONE, CHAIN VOLUME MEASURES
TOTAL CONSTRUCTION
The trend estimate for total construction work done fell 2.4% in the March quarter 2019.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for total construction work done fell 1.9% to $50,787.9m in the March quarter.
BUILDING WORK DONE
The trend estimate for total building work done fell 0.9% in the March quarter 2019.
The trend estimate for non-residential building work done rose 1.6% and residential building work fell 2.4%.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of total building work done fell 0.4% to $29,835.1m in the March quarter.
ENGINEERING WORK DONE
The trend estimate for engineering work done fell 4.0% in the March quarter.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for engineering work done fell 3.9% to $20,952.8m in the March quarter.