US building permits stand on 1.01 million in November, better than expected. They were predicted to tick down to an annual level of 0.99 million in November from 1.04 million in October (before revisions). US housing starts jumped to 1.09 million in November, far above predictions. They were expected to stand at an annual level of 0.95 million in November and with somewhat lower numbers for October and September. Indeed, figures for housing starts were weak: 0.87 million in October and 0.89 in September. The last figures were released for August and were since delayed because of the government shutdown.
The US dollar was strengthening towards the publication, as the focus is on the all-important FOMC decision later in the day. EUR/USD was trading at 1.3740, USD/JPY at 1.03.05 and GBP/USD stood out by rising to 1.6365, riding on strong employment numbers in the UK. The dollar is somewhat stronger after the multiple releases.
Housing has led the recovery, and prices have been rising quite fast in the past year, with double digit annual rises for quite some time. These numbers are not expected to impact the Fed in its decision to taper or not to taper.
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