U.S. housing starts rally as permits slide

U.S. housing starts rose 12.2 percent in August to an annualized rate of 1.575 million units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That exceeded the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, who had forecast a rate of 1.445 million units. July’s pace meanwhile was revised downward to 1.404 million units, from the initial estimate of 1.446 million units. Building permits for August fell by 10 percent to a rate of 1.517 million units.