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Economy in Brief
Delay in Release
of Data for Construction, MSIO, Intl Trade, Wholesale Trade, Monthly Treasury, Retail Sales, Business Sales & Inventories, and Housing Starts Due to Lapse in Federal Government Funding.
U.K. Retail Sales Begin to Lose Momentum
U.K. retail sales fell by a sharp 1% in December...
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index Rebounds; Pricing Pressure Eases
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index increased to 17.0 during January...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Slip
Initial claims for jobless insurance eased to 213,000 (-2.6% y/y) during the week ended January 12...
Passenger Car Registrations Hold to Low Ground in Europe
Passenger car registrations in Europe fell on a year-over-year comparison for the fourth consecutive months in December...
by Tom Moeller March 16, 2005
Housing starts unexpectedly ticked 0.5% higher in February to a record high of 2.195M following an upwardly revised 6.2% increase in January.Consensus expectations had been for a decline to 2.033M starts.
Single-family starts rose 0.3% m/m to a record high of 1.775M and reflected a 4.5% (19.0% y/y) gain in the Northeast. Single family starts in the Midwest also jumped 19.1% (7.3% y/y).
Multi family starts remained on the mend and rose 1.7% m/m after the upwardly revised 20.8% January spike.
Building permits slipped 2.7% reflecting a 10.8% (+13.8% y/y) drop in permits for 5+ units.
| Housing Starts (000s, AR) | Feb | Jan | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2,195 | 2,183 | 15.8% | 1,952 | 1,853 | 1,7 10 |
| Single-family | 1,775 | 1,770 | 16.7% | 1,605 | 1,505 | 1,363 |
| Multi-family | 420 | 413 | 12.3% | 347 | 348 | 347 |
| Building Permits | 2,074 | 2,132 | 6.0% | 2,035 | 1,8 89 | 1,749 |
