American Housing Starts Climb 3.6%

Contractors broke ground on new homes in the U.S. at an annual rate of 894,000 units in October compared with a revised 872,000 units the previous month, the Dept. of Commerce reports. September home starts were up a revised 15.1% from August.

Building permits, which surged 11.1% in September, fell 2.7% to an annual pace of 866,000 homes last month. Permits are a gauge of future construction.

Separately the National Assn. of Homebuilder's index of builder confidence hit a six-year high of 46 in October, up from 19 a year earlier and 41 in September.

Revival of the housing market is one of the key factors in accelerating consumer spending and growth of the U.S. economy, analysts say. The trend also typically heralds rising sales of fullsize pickup trucks, which are favored by contractors.