A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed a sharp pullback in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of July.
The Commerce Department said housing starts plunged by 7.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.534 million in July after jumping by 3.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.650 million in June.
Economists had expected housing starts to slump by 2.6 percent to a rate of 1.600 million from the 1.643 million originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said building permits shot up by 2.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.635 million in July after tumbling by 5.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.594 million in June.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to climb by 0.8 percent to a rate of 1.610 million from the 1.598 million originally reported for the previous month.
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