Australian construction activity contracts for a second month in December: In what is a bad near-term sign for construction activity all four survey sub-sectors contracted during the month with gauges on home, apartment, commercial and engineering construction falling by 5.5pts, 14.3pts, 4.4pts and 0.1pts respectively. Adding to concerns, at 46.3, 43.7 and 41.6 respectively, the readings for home, apartment and commercial construction all sit at least 8pts below their 12-month series averages. (VIEW LINK)