Australian Home Loans up

The number of home loans approved in Australia rose 1.3 percent to 46,859 in June 2012, compared to the previous month, data released on Aug. 8, 2012 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed.

Economists had forecast a two percent housing finance rise in June.

The ABS said that total housing finance by value rose 2.4 percent in June 2012, to 20.72 billion AU dollars ($21.86 billion), compared with the previous month.

Economists say the June housing finance figures suggest that housing demand has picked up in Australia recently driven by the aggressive rate cuts delivered by the Reserve Bank of Australia in May and June.