U.S. housing starts, building permits and housing completions declined in the month of January according to data released by the Commerce Department on new residential construction. Housing Starts fell by 16.8 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 466,000 starts compared to December 2008. January’s total is down by a whopping 56.2 percent from January 2008 and marks the lowest level on record. Single-family housing starts fell by 12.2 percent compared to December.
Building permits statistics, used as a predictor of future construction, fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 521,000 permits in January. This is a decrease of 4.8 percent compared to December and also the lowest standing on record for the Commerce Department permits data. January’s permits have seen a 50.5 percent drop from January of 2008. Single-family permits totaled 335,000 which was 8.0 percent less than December’s permit totals.
Housing Completions for January also decreased when compared to December as completions fell to an annual rate of 776,000 privately-owned housing completions. This is a decrease of 24.2 percent from December’s completion totals and 41.7 percent below the January 2008 level. Single family housing completions fell in January by 17.5 percent from December.
US Dollar mixed in Forex Trading.
The U.S. dollar has been mixed in forex trading against the major currencies today. The dollar has gained against the euro, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, Australian dollar and British pound while losing ground against the Canadian dollar and trading almost unchanged versus the New Zealand dollar.
The euro has declined versus the dollar everyday this week and declined from today’s 1.2594 opening at 00:00GMT to trading at approximately 1.2537 in the US trading session at 4:28pm EST. The British pound has decreased today versus the dollar as the GBP/USD has gone from its 1.4239 opening to trading at 1.4218 later.
The dollar has also been rising against the Japanese yen today as the USD/JPY has advanced from its 92.26 opening to trading at 93.78 later today. Against the Swiss franc, the USD has been gaining today after falling yesterday as the USD/CHF has climbed from its 1.1677 opening to trading at 1.1776.
The dollar has declined against the Canadian dollar after opening at 1.2629 earlier today to trading later at 1.2611 later. The Australian dollar has declined versus the US dollar after opening at 0.6392 today as the AUD/USD currently trades at 0.6379. The New Zealand dollar is virtually unchanged versus the USD with the NZD/USD trading at 0.5101 after opening today at 0.5094.
USD/JPY Chart – The US Dollar advancing against the Japanese Yen today in Forex Trading.
