US housing starts slide further

WASHINGTON: Construction starts on new US homes slumped an additional 6.3 per cent in September to the lowest level since the recession in 1991, official data showed yesterday.

Housing starts fell to an annualised rate of 817,000.

That was down 31.1 per cent from a year ago in the latest evidence of the bursting of the housing bubble that has ravaged the US economy and led to a global financial crisis.

The figure was far weaker than the 870,000 expected by private forecasters.

Permits for new homes, a sign of future activity, fell 8.3 per cent to a pace of 786,000 and were down 38.4 per cent from a year ago.

By AFP