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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 October 19, 2005
Housing starts remained firm last month and rose 3.4% m/m to 2.108M units.The prior month's figure was revised slightly higher and the September gain far outpaced Consensus expectations for a decline to 1.97M starts.
The Census Bureau indicated that the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the figures was minimal.
Single-family starts rose 2.6% due to 6.2% gains in both the South (14.0% y/y) and in the Midwest (7.3% y/y). In the Northeast, single family starts rose 0.7% (17.2% y/y) and in the West single family starts fell 5.3% (+11.7% y/y).
Multi family starts rose 7.8% m/m after an upwardly revised 1.5% August gain.
Federal Reserve Board Vice-Chairman Roger W. Ferguson's speech on the Economic Outlook for the United States can be found here.
| Housing Starts (000s, AR) | Sept | Aug | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2,108 | 2,038 | 10.3% | 1,950 | 1,854 | 1,710 |
| Single-family | 1,747 | 1,703 | 12.3% | 1,604 | 1,505 | 1,363 |
| Multi-family | 361 | 335 | 1.1% | 345 | 349 | 347 |
| Building Permits | 2,189 | 2,138 | 7.4% | 2,058 | 1,8 88 | 1,749 |
