Australian banks are likely to continue lowering their exposure to overseas funding markets, a senior member of Australia's central bank said today.

After relying largely on overseas markets to fund their operations in years past, Australian banks have been raising less of their wholesale funding from offshore than has matured over the past three or four years.

The total number of houses and apartments that started construction in the first quarter of 2011 rose 3.1% to a seasonally adjusted 39,578 from the fourth quarter of 2010.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also said that the number of private-sector houses started in the first quarter fell 1.9% to 23,124 from the previous quarter.

An index of consumer sentiment fell 2.6% in June from May, marking the lowest reading in the index in two years.

The index fell to a reading of 101.2 points in June in seasonally adjusted terms from 103.9 points in May, compliers Westpac Banking Corp. and the Melbourne Institute said.