U.S. Housing Starts Slump Less Than Expected In December

RTTNews | 805 days ago
U.S. Housing Starts Slump Less Than Expected In December

(RTTNews) - New residential construction in U.S. fell for the fourth straight month in December, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday, although the decrease was much smaller than expected.

The report said housing starts slumped by 1.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.382 million in December after tumbling by 1.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.401 million in November.

Economists had expected housing starts to plunge by 4.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.359 million from the 1.427 million originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department said building permits also dove by 1.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.330 million in December after plummeting by 10.6 percent to a revised rate of 1.351 million in December.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to jump by 2.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.370 million from the 1.342 million originally reported for the previous month.

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