New figures show that US housing starts slid 6.2% in August to a fresh 17-year low, in a sign that the slump in the country's property market is not over.
Starts for new home construction fell to an annualised level of 895,000 units, the Commerce Department said, well below market expectations of 950,000.
The level of starts is 33% below the pace of a year ago, a sign of the depth of the housing crisis, which has turned into a global financial maelstrom affecting the banks and others investing in the housing market.
The August drop followed a 12.4% tumble in July housing starts. Permits for new homes, a sign of future activity, fell 8.9% to 854,000 and were down 36% from a year ago.
Separate figures showed that the US current account deficit widened to $183.1 billion in the second quarter of 2008, from a downwardly revised $175.6 billion in the first quarter.
