New figures show that new home building in the US, already at a 10-year low, declined 2.6% in August.
The Commerce Department said US housing starts in August fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.331 million units. That was sharply below analysts' forecasts of 1.345 million.
The department also revised downward the July figures, which had marked the lowest level of housing starts in a decade, to 1.367 million units, from 1.381 million.
Separate figures from the Labor Department showed that US consumer prices fell 0.1% in August from July, a further sign of easing inflationary pressures. It was the first decline in the headline inflation index since October 2006.
The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.2%, in line with Wall Street expectations. The annual rate of inflation was 2%.
