US inflation in line but housing starts slump
Higher food and fuel costs pushed US consumer prices higher in March, though the annual inflation rate remain unchanged from February at 4%.
The US Consumer Price Index advanced 0.3% in March after showing no change the previous month, while core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% after also showing no change in February. Core inflation rose 2.4% on an annual basis.
The figures were in line with market expectations.
Meanwhile, the US construction industry remains in the mire, as the US housing slump continues to depress demand for new dwellings.
(Article continues below)Advertisement
Housing starts in March slipped 12% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 947,000 after easing 0.7% in February to 1.075m.
The slow-down was almost twice as severe as economists had predicted and took housing starts to their lowest level since March 1991.
On a brighter note, US industrial production rose 0.3% in March, confounding predictions of a decline. The rise follows a revised 0.7% slide in February.
Capacity utilisation rose to 80.5% from 80.3% in February.
