WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After reporting a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing housing starts pulled back by much more than expected in the month of March.
The Commerce Department said housing starts plummeted by 14.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.321 million in March after soaring by 12.7 percent to a revised rate of 1.549 million in February.
Economists had expected housing starts to slump by 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.480 million from the 1.521 million originally reported for the previous month.
The report said building permits also tumbled by 4.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.458 million in March after jumping by 2.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.523 million in February.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to dip by 0.3 percent to a rate of 1.514 million from the 1.518 million originally reported for the previous month.
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