Wholesale Inflation Rate Drop

The construction industry fell to a three-year low last month and a measure of wholesale price inflation dropped, boosting speculation the Federal Reserve is finished raising interest rates through the end of this year and possibly beyond.

Housing starts plunged 6 percent in August to an annual rate of 1.665 million, the Commerce Department said today. It was a steeper slide than economists forecasts.

Prices paid to U.S. producers excluding food and energy declined 0.4 percent from July, the Labor Department said, marking the first back-to-back monthly drop since the end of 2002.

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