Washington, Dec 17 : US consumer prices in November plunged by the largest amount on record going back 61 years, as energy costs posted nearly double the decline of the previous month.

The Labor Department reported on Tuesday that consumer prices fell 1.7 percent in November, surpassing the previous record decline of 1 percent set in October. The drop was the largest one-month decline dating to February 1947, CBS News reported.

The huge decreases reflect the severe recession gripping the country and raise the pressure for the Federal Reserve to act decisively to guard against a debilitating bout of deflation.

In other economic news, the Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes fell in November by 18.9 percent, the biggest drop in a quarter-century.

The steep decline pushed construction down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000 homes, the slowest pace on records that go back to 1959.

On Wall Street, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Tuesday reported its first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999, losing 2.29 billion dollars during its fiscal fourth quarter, CBS News reported.

The loss proves the turmoil in the financial markets has tripped up even the best-run financial institutions. (ANI)