WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday unexpectedly showed a sharp increase by new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of July.
The Commerce Department said housing starts surged by 5.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.428 million in July after spiking by 5.9 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 1.358 million in June.
Economists had expected housing starts to slump by 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.290 million from the 1.321 million originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said building permits tumbled by 2.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.354 million in July after edging down by 0.1 percent to a downwardly revised rate of 1.393 million in June.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to fall by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.390 million from the 1.397 million originally reported for the previous month.
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