2018.01.1808:44:00UTC+00U.S. Housing Starts Slump 8.2% In December

A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed a steep drop in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of December.

The report said housing starts tumbled by 8.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.192 million in December from the revised November estimate of 1.299 million.

Economists had expected housing starts to drop to a rate of 1.275 million from the 1.297 million originally reported for the previous month.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, edged down by 0.1 percent to a rate of 1.302 million in December from a revised 1.303 million in November.