U.S. housing starts and building permits decreased in April by more than expected while housing completions increased according to data released by the Commerce Department on new residential construction. Housing Starts decreased by 12.8 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual 
rate of 494,000 starts following a revised annual rate of 525,000 housing starts in March. April’s data was below economic forecasts that were predicting a 523,000 annual housing starts pace. On an annual basis, housing starts are 54.2 percent lower than the April 2008 level.
Building permits statistics, used as a predictor of future construction, showed a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 494,000 permits in April which is a decline of 3.3 percent compared to March. April’s permits were also below forecasts expecting permits to number approximately 530,000 annually. On an annual basis, building permits are 50.2 percent lower than the April 2008 permit level.
Housing Completions for April increased when compared to March as completions rose to an annual rate of 874,000 privately-owned housing completions. This is an increase of 4.9 percent from the March completion totals. On an annual basis, housing completions are 15.0 percent below April 2008’s level.
US Dollar falls today in forex trading for second day.
The U.S. dollar has been weaker in forex trading today against most of the major currencies for the second day in a row as risk appetite has ticked up so far this week. The dollar has declined today versus the euro, British pound, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Japanese yen, New Zealand dollar and the Swiss franc.
The euro has advanced versus the dollar today as the EUR/USD has gone from today’s 1.3570 opening exchange rate at 00:00 GMT to trading at approximately 1.3602 in the US trading session at 11:27pm EST according to currency data by Oanda.
The British pound has climbed today versus the American currency from 1.5335 to trading at 1.5503 dollars per pound. The dollar has fallen against the Japanese yen today as the USD/JPY has declined from its 96.43 opening to trading at 96.19.
The dollar has also fallen against the Canadian dollar after opening at 1.1634 earlier today to trading at 1.1570. Meanwhile, the USD has fallen against the Swiss franc from 1.1142 to trading at 1.1116.
The Australian dollar has advanced versus the USD as the AUD/USD trades at 0.7751 after opening today at 0.7665 while the New Zealand dollar has also increased versus the USD and trades at 0.6030 after opening at the 0.5971 exchange rate.
AUD/USD Chart – The Australian dollar advancing sharply yesterday and today against the US Dollar in Forex Trading and is trading at its highest point versus the USD since October 2008.
