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New US Home Construction Sinks to Slowest Pace in 4 Years. Government data released on June 20 indicates that new home construction in America dropped in May to the slowest pace since June 2020, Yahoo Finance reports. Housing starts dropped 5.5%, and building permits dipped 3.8%. Home completions also fell to the lowest amount since September 2022. High interest rates, set by the Fed to help tame inflation, have resulted in high mortgage rates. But recent data has suggested that inflation has started to cool, which may give the Fed the confidence it needs to lower rates. "The weakest U.S. housing starts since the pandemic-led shutdowns are fairly convincing evidence of restrictive monetary policy." "While a growing population and workforce are providing some support, US home builders won't become busier until borrowing costs fall.", Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, via note. Meanwhile, other data released on June 20 showed that first-time applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week. However, continuing claims rose for a seventh consecutive week. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT