Housing Starts As Inflation Rate Drop

Housing Starts As Inflation Rate Drop

The construction industry fell to a three-year low last month and a measure of wholesale price inflation dropped, boosting speculation the Federal Reserve is finished raising interest rates through the end of this year and possibly beyond.

According to the Commerce Department housing starts plunged 6 percent in August to an annual rate of 1.665 million. It was a steeper slide than economists forecasts.

Prices paid to U.S. producers excluding food and energy declined 0.4 percent from July, the Labor Department said, marking the first back-to-back monthly drop since the end of 2002.

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