US housing is on unexpected decline

The number of homes under construction in the United States fell by 0.3 percent in March compared to a month earlier. The US Department of Commerce announced it in a regular report.

The construction amounted to approximately 1.1 million homes on an annual basis. Economists generally expected an increase of 5.4 percent. Housing construction declined by an adjusted 12 percent in February. A drop of 8.7 percent was previously reported

The ministry also reported that the number of building permits issued in March fell by 1.7 percent. Here, economists expected an average increase of 0.7 percent.