US housing starts slip 0.5pc in September

US housing starts slipped 0.5% month-on-month to a reading of 1.35m in September, according to the Census Bureau, in line with market expectations.

Starts of houses with five units or more fell 4.5% from August to an annualised print of 317,000, while starts of single-family homes increased by 2.7%, an annualised rate of 1.02m.

Building permits fell by a more-than-expected 2.9% to 1.42m in September, missing forecasts for a reading of 1.46m.

Approvals for buildings with five or more units crashed 10.8% to 398,000, while single-family authorisations were up 0.3% at 970,000.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com