New residential construction in the U.S. saw a steep drop in the month of July, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.
The report said housing starts plunged by 6.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.238 million in July after jumping by 1.1 percent to a revised rate of 1.329 million in June.
Economists had expected housing starts to slump by 1.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.330 million from the 1.353 million originally reported for the previous month.
The Commerce Department said building permits also plummeted by 7.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.396 million in July after surging by 3.9 percent to a revised rate of 1.454 million in June.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to decrease by 1.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.430 million from the 1.446 million originally reported for the previous month.
At 10 am ET, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in the month of August. The consumer sentiment index is expected to inch up to 66.9 in August after falling to 66.4 in July.
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee is due to participate in a fireside chat before the Angeles Investors’ Q3 Summit and Awards Event at 1:25 pm ET.