By CountingPips.com
U.S. housing starts and building permits decreased unexpectedly in the month of October while housing completions increased according to data released by the Commerce Department on new residential construction. Housing Starts fell by 10.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000 starts following an annual 
rate of 592,000 in September. October’s data was worse than economic forecasts predicting a rise for the month to a 600,000 starts pace.
Building permits statistics, used as a predictor of future construction, showed a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 552,000 permits in October which is a decline of 4.0 percent when compared to September. Building permits also failed to match forecasts expecting permits to number approximately 580,000 annually.
Housing Completions for October increased when compared to September as completions rose to an annual rate of 740,000 privately-owned housing completions. This is an increase of 1.9 percent from September’s completion totals.
US Consumer Prices increase in October
U.S. Consumer Prices increased for the third month in a row as energy price increases helped push the index higher according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Consumer Price Index, a key measurement of inflation, increased by 0.3 percent in October following up an increase of 0.2 percent in September.
The annual rate of consumer prices, despite the monthly gain, fell by 0.2 percent when compared to October 2008. The annual rate of inflation in September had registered 1.3 percent decline. Rising energy prices were a significant contributor in the increased inflation as the report showed that energy prices rose by 1.5 percent and gasoline prices increased by 1.6 percent for the month. Food prices rose by just 0.1 percent in October.
The core inflation reading, excluding food and energy prices, increased by 0.2 percent for the month surpassing market forecasts expecting a 0.1 percent gain. The annual rate of core inflation increased by 1.7 percent for June following up an increase of 1.5 percent in September.
US Dollar mixed in Forex Trading
The U.S. dollar has been mixed in forex trading today against the other major currencies. The dollar has been gaining today versus the British pound, Canadian dollar, Japanese yen and Australian dollar while falling against the euro and Swiss franc and trading almost unchanged versus the New Zealand dollar at 4:04 pm EST according to currency data by Oanda.
The US stock markets have had a negative session so far today with the Dow Jones falling by roughly 11 points, the Nasdaq decreasing 10.64 points and the S&P 500 showing a 0.53 point slide. Oil has traded higher by approximately $0.46 to $79.60 while gold has risen by $2.40 to $1141.20 per ounce.
