U.S. Reports November Upturn in Home Building Builders broke ground on homes at a faster rate in November, the government said Wednesday, offering some hope that construction would continue to grow modestly and help stimulate the broader economy. Home construction increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 574,000, the Commerce Department said, up 8.9 percent from October. Analysts attributed the increase to unexpectedly warm and dry weather in November after an unusually cold and wet October. The number of building permits, an indicator of future construction that is not influenced by weather, rose 6 percent in November, reaching the highest level in a year after declining in October. Apartment construction, which remains in a deep slump, backed off slightly from a 40-year low, reaching an annual rate of 92,000. Single-family home construction grew 2.1 percent. Thomas A. Lawler, founder of Lawler Economic and Housing Consulting in Virginia, said construction was still proceeding at a relatively slow pace, which he said was encouraging because it would allow vacant homes already on the market to be sold. "Everyone still agrees that there is a disturbingly high level of vacant homes still on the market," Mr. Lawler said. The best thing that can happen would be a continued subdued pace of construction. Economists expect demand for homes to remain at modest levels through the spring, propped up by a government tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers, which expires in April. Home construction has a powerful ricochet effect through the economy. After a house is sold, consumers typically need refrigerators, appliances and furniture. Some economists estimate that construction alone will add 0.5 percent to gross domestic product in the fourth quarter. A separate report released Wednesday showed that inflation appeared to be largely under control: consumer prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs, remained virtually unchanged in November. Declining rents helped offset an increase in the price of cars, tobacco and airline tickets. When food and energy were added, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in November, largely because of a 6.4 percent jump in gasoline prices and a 7.3 percent rise in oil prices. On Tuesday, a report on producer prices showed unexpected gains in wholesale prices because of high energy costs, which economists expect to subside in the months ahead. Compared with a year ago, consumer prices were up 1.8 percent. Even as prices show small increases, the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank, remains unconcerned about inflation. On Wednesday, the Fed reiterated its promise to keep interest rates low for an "extended period," saying inflation would "remain subdued for some time." Still, companies are finding it difficult to pass along higher prices to consumers, given high unemployment and idle production capability. On Tuesday, Best Buy, for instance, said its profit margins would fall during the holiday season because of deeply discounted computers and televisions. "When you've got wild unemployment around the world, and very low capacity utilization, it's a real competition to get people to buy your products and you compete for lower prices," said Robert J. Barbera, chief economist for ITG. It's hard to tell an inflation story with that kind of excess capacity. A third report released Wednesday showed the current-account deficit rising in the United States because of an increase in oil imports and industrial goods in the third quarter. The deficit widened to $108 billion in the third quarter, an increase of 10.3 percent from the previous quarter, the Commerce Department said.