U.S. Housing Starts Unexpectedly See Further Downside In August

(RTTNews) - New residential construction in the U.S. unexpectedly saw further downside in the month of August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. The Commerce Department said housing starts slumped by 2.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.309 million in August after plunging by 9.0 percent to a revised rate of 1.439 million in July. Economists had expected housing starts to spike by 6.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.315 million from the 1.239 million originally reported for the previous month. The report said building permits also dove by 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.394 million in August after jumping by 4.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.433 million in July.