New residential construction in the U.S. rebounded by much more than anticipated in the month of February, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.
The Commerce Department said housing starts spiked by 11.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.501 million in February after plunging by 11.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.350 million in January.
Economists had expected housing starts to increase by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.380 million from the 1.366 million originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said building permits slumped by 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.456 million in February after falling by 0.6 percent to a revised rate of 1.473 million in January.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to tumble by 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.450 million from the 1.483 million originally reported for the previous month.
A separate report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed an unexpected increase by U.S. import prices in the month of February.
The Labor Department said import prices climbed by 0.4 percent in February, matching an upwardly revised increase in January.
Economists had expected import prices to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.3 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said export prices inched up by 0.1 percent in February after jumping by 1.3 percent in January. Export prices were expected to dip by 0.2 percent.
At 9:15 am ET, the Federal Reserve is due to release its report on industrial production in the month of February. Industrial production is expected to rise by 0.2 percent in February after climbing by 0.5 percent in January.
The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $13 billion worth of twenty-year bonds at 1 pm ET.