Partly reflecting a rebound in new residential construction in the Northeast, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing that U.S. housing starts increased by much more than anticipated in the month of June.
The Commerce Department said housing starts jumped 4.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.189 million in June from the revised May estimate of 1.135 million.
Economists had expected housing starts to edge up by 0.5 percent to a rate of 1.170 million from the 1.164 million originally reported for the previous month.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, also climbed by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.153 million in June from a revised 1.136 million in May.
The consensus estimate had called for building permits to rise to a rate of 1.150 million from the 1.138 million originally reported for May.
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