US housing starts fall more than expected in March

US housing starts fell a little more than expected in March, according to data released by the Commerce Department.

Housing starts declined 8.8% from February to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.09m compared with expectations for a drop to 1.17m. This was a 14.2% increase from the same month in 2015.

Meanwhile, building permits – a closely-followed gauge of future demand – slid 7.7% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.09m, which was a one-year low. This marked a 4.6% rise compared with March last year.

Finally, starts for single-family homes dropped 9.2% to an annualised 764,000.