Instant view: CPI rises; housing starts up 15 percent

U.S. consumer prices outside food and energy rose less than expected in September to post their smallest gain in six months, a government report showed on Wednesday, suggesting inflation pressures remained contained.

U.S. housing starts surged in September at their fastest annual pace in 17 months on a big increase in groundbreaking for multi-family units, while permits for future construction fell, a government report showed on Wednesday.

COMMENTS:

BORIS SCHLOSSBERG, HEAD OF RESEARCH, GFT FOREX, NEW YORK

"The housing starts were strong, which is the first sign of life in housing we've seen in a while. That's welcome. And the CPI is positive for risk, which is helping the euro. But generally, I think this will have very little impact on trade because the focus is still squarely on Europe. The market is coming to the conclusion that they are working on something big and dramatic and the euro is trading accordingly."

RICH ILCZYSZYN, SENIOR MARKET STRATEGIST WITH MF GLOBAL IN CHICAGO

"We're still in shock from Apple missing yesterday, but the market recovered somewhat overnight. The CPI numbers are a bit flat, but the market is responding OK. Right now, these numbers are important but are overshadowed by the magnitude of the euro zone issue and the size of the Greek protest.

"The housing market remains relatively slow, so bad news, since it isn't worse news, can almost seem like good news."