Building Permit Figures

Residential construction in the U.S. slowed for the second straight month in June, as both housing starts and the number of building permits issued declined. Housing starts fell 2% to a seasonally adjusted 1.56 million, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected housing starts to rise 1.4%. Building permits slipped 0.6% to 1.69 million, but held 1.4% higher than the figure in the prior year. The drops came as interest rates climbed and a…