Data released Tuesday by the Commerce Department revealed a surprising uptick in new residential construction across the United States in July.
According to the report, housing starts jumped 5.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.428 million units, following a revised 5.9% increase in June that brought the total to 1.358 million.
Economists had anticipated a decline, forecasting housing starts would drop 2.4% to 1.290 million units from the initially reported 1.321 million in June.
Meanwhile, building permits, which provide a glimpse of future construction activity, fell 2.8% to an annualized 1.354 million in July. This came after a slight 0.1% decline in June, which was revised down to 1.393 million.
Analysts had expected permits to decrease by 0.5% to 1.390 million, compared with the prior month’s originally reported 1.397 million.
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