U.S. Housing Starts Unexpectedly Extend Slump In November, But Building Permits Surge

(RTTNews) - While the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday unexpectedly showing a continued slump by housing starts in the U.S. in the month of November, the report also showed a much bigger than expected surge by building permits.

The report said housing starts tumbled by 1.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.289 million in November after plunging by 3.2 percent to a revised rate of 1.312 million in October.

Economists had expected housing starts to jump by 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.340 million from the 1,311 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said building permits spiked by 6.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.505 million in November after falling by 0.4 percent to a revised rate of 1.419 million in October.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to climb by 1.0 percent to a rate of 1.430 million from the 1.416 million originally reported for the previous month.