U.S. Housing Starts Pull Back Much Less Than Expected In April

(RTTNews) - New residential construction in the U.S. pulled back by much less than expected in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said housing starts slumped by 2.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.465 million in April after soaring by 12 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 1.507 million in March.

Economists had expected housing starts to plunge by 6.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.410 million from the 1.502 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report also said building permits spiked by 5.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.442 million in April after plummeting by 11.5 percent to a downwardly revised rate of 1.363 million in March.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to climbed by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.380 million from the 1.1372 million originally reported for the previous month.