Housing starts fell by 12.4% to a 1.239 million annual rate in July, with single-family and multi-family housing starts both lower.
Building permits rose by 5.0% to a 1.443 million rate in July. Both single-family and multi-family permits increased. Homes permitted but not started also increased by 4.1%, suggesting starts could rebound in the coming months.
The number of homes under construction and completions decline in the month, subtracting from the supply of homes for sale in the near term. Completions were 16.8% below their year-ago level.
Import prices fell by 0.4% in July but were up 0.3% excluding a decline in petroleum prices and up 0.4% excluding all fuels.
Export prices fell by 1.3% in July and were down 1.5% excluding a 1.0% gain in agricultural prices.
July industrial production rose by 0.2% after a 0.3% gain in June, with manufacturing production up 0.2% overall and up 0.4% excluding a 2.1% drop in motor vehicle and parts production.
Utilities output rose by 0.5% on gains in both electricity and natural gas production while mining production increased by 0.2%.
The New York Federal Reserve's monthly business leaders index, a measure of services conditions, fell to 0.5 in August from 8.7 in July, indicating a much slower pace of growth. Other services data will be released over the coming weeks.
The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index fell by 2.3% in July, below expectations for no change, as mortgage rates remain elevated. Pending sales were down 2.2% from a year earlier.
Redbook reported that US same-store retail sales were up 7.6% year-over-year in the week ended Aug. 15, slower than an 8.3% gain in the prior week. Back-to-school sales continue to be the driving factor, but the timing varies from state-to-state.
The Q3 GDP nowcast estimate from the Atlanta Fed is for a 4.0% gain, revised down from a 4.3% increase in the previous estimate