2019.10.1712:44:00UTC+00U.S. Housing Starts Plunge 9.4% In September

After reporting a substantial increase in new residential construction in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing a sharp pullback in U.S. housing starts in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said housing starts plunged by 9.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.256 million in September after soaring by 15.1 percent to a revised 1.386 million in August.

Economists had expected housing starts to drop by 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.320 million from the 1.364 million originally reported for the previous month.

The report said building permits also slumped by 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.387 million in September after jumping by 8.2 percent to a revised 1.425 million in August.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to tumble by 4.9 percent to a rate of 1.350 million from the 1.419 million originally reported for the previous month.