US Housing Starts decline 6.8% in July, Building Permits fall 4%

• Housing Starts and Building Permits in the US declined sharply in July.
• The US Dollar Index stays in negative territory below 103.00.

Housing Starts in the US declined 6.8% in July to 1.238 million units, the monthly data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Friday. This reading followed the 1.1% increase (revised from 3%) recorded in June. 

In the same period, Building Permits decreased 4% after rising 3.9% (revised from 3.4%) in June.

Market reaction

The US Dollar stays on the back foot after these data releases. At the time of press, the USD Index was down 0.3% on the day at 102.73.