Federal Reserve and New York City Police officers stand guard in front of the New York Federal Reserve Building in New York, October 17, 2012. REUTERS/Keith Bedford/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Federal Reserve on Friday downgraded its forecasts on U.S. economic growth in the second half of 2016 following data on regional business activities in October and a steep drop in housing starts last month.

The regional central bank said its “Nowcast” model projected gross domestic product in the third quarter growing at 2.22 percent versus 2.30 percent a week ago. It downgraded its fourth-quarter GDP outlook to 1.40 percent from 1.56 percent a week ago.