Tuesday, June 19, 2007

UPDATE 1-U.S. May housing starts fall 2.1 pct, permits up

(Reuters) - The Commerce Department said housing starts set an annual
pace of 1.474 million units in May compared with a 1.506
million unit pace in April. Economists had forecast May housing
starts to drop sharply to a 1.480 million unit pace from the
1.528 million rate originally reported for April last month.




Building permits, which signal future construction plans,
rose in May by 3.0 percent to a pace of 1.501 million units.
Economists had been expecting the permits to hit a 1.471
million unit rate. Permits for single-family homes fell 1.8
percent to their lowest level since July 1997 but permits for
multi-family units jumped 16.5 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

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