Recent Updates
- China: 70-City Property Prices (Nov)
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Industrial Production Rebounds
Industrial production jumped a greater-than-expected 0.6% (3.9% year-on-year) during November...
U.S. Business Inventory Accumulation Picks Up
Total business inventories increased 0.6% (5.1% y/y) during October...
U.S. Import Prices Weaken As Petroleum Prices Fall; Export Prices Also Decline
Import prices fell 1.6% (+0.7% y/y) during November following an unrevised 0.5% October rise...
U.S. Government Budget Deficit Surges Unexpectedly
The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the federal government ran a $204.9 billion budget deficit during November...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Decline
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 206,000 (-7.6% y/y) during the week ended December 8...
by Tom Moeller April 19, 2005
Housing starts fell a sharp 17.6% from the record high the prior month which was revised slightly higher from the initial report. March starts of 1.837M were the lowest since November of last year.Consensus expectations had been for a lesser decline to 2.10M starts.
Single-family starts of 1.54M slid 14.4% m/m from the upwardly revised record high in February. Single family starts in the Northeast dropped 19.9% (-16.9% y/y) while single family starts in the Midwest reversed all of the prior month's jump with a 18.5% (-8.5% y/y) slump. Single family starts in the South fell 15.3% (-4.8% y/y) and starts in the West were off 7.8% (+0.2% y/y).
Multi family starts cratered by nearly a third to the lowest level since June of last year.
Building permits fell 4.0% but the decline the prior month was revised shallower.
| Housing Starts (000s, AR) | Mar | Feb | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1,837 | 2,229 | -8.2% | 1,952 | 1,853 | 1,7 10 |
| Single-family | 1,539 | 1,798 | -5.2% | 1,605 | 1,505 | 1,363 |
| Multi-family | 298 | 431 | -20.7% | 347 | 348 | 347 |
| Building Permits | 2,023 | 2,107 | 0.2% | 2,035 | 1,8 89 | 1,749 |
