US housing starts fell 17% in February

FXStreet (Mumbai) - The official data released in the US today showed housing starts fell 17% in February, mostly because of heavy snowfall that sidelined builders in the Northeast and Midwest. However, building permits rose 3%.

Housing starts fell to an annual rate of 897,000 in February from a revised 1.08 million in January, while building permits, a sign of future demand, rose to an annual rate of 1.09 million from January's upwardly revised level of 1.06 million.

The rise in the building permits indicates construction could pick up in the months ahead. Construction could also pick up as the weather warms and the spring demand kicks in.