U.S. Housing Starts Rebound 9.8% In February, Much More Than Expected

RTTNews | 791 dias atrás

(RTTNews) - After reporting decreases in new U.S. residential construction for six straight months, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing a substantial rebound in housing starts in the month of February.

The Commerce Department said housing starts spiked by 9.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.450 million in February after slumping by 2.0 percent to a revised rate of 1.321 million in January.

Economists had expected housing starts to rise to an annual rate of 1.315 million from the 1.309 million originally reported for the previous month.

The rebound by housing starts largely reflected a surge in multi-family starts, which soared by 24.0 percent to a rate of 620,000. Single-family starts also jumped by 1.1 percent to a rate of 830,000.

"The rise in single family starts in February, albeit modest, suggests that the housing sector may have bottomed in January," said Nancy Vanden Houten, U.S. Lead Economist at Oxford Economics.

The report said building permits also skyrocketed by 13.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.524 million in February after inching up by 0.1 percent to an unrevised rate of 1.339 million in January.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to edge up to an annual rate of 1.340 million.

Multi-family permits shot up by 21.1 percent to a rate of 747,000, while single-family permits surged by 7.6 percent to a rate of 777,000.

Marcadores : USD

U.S. Business Inventories Inch Up Slightly Less Than Expected In March

The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing a slight increase by U.S. business inventories in the month of March. The report said business inventories crept up by 0.1 percent in March after rising by 0.2 percent in February. Economists had expected business inventories to rise by another 0.2 percent.

RTTNews | 3h 7min atrás

U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Slumps In May

Reflecting growing uncertainties stemming from elevated interest rates, tariff concerns, building material cost uncertainty and the cloudy economic outlook, the National Association of Home Builders released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected slump by U.S. homebuilder confidence in the month of May.

RTTNews | 3h 22min atrás

U.S. Industrial Production Unexpectedly Flat In April

With a rebound by utilities output offset by decreases by manufacturing and mining output, the Federal Reserve released a report on Thursday showing industrial production in the U.S. came in unchanged in the month of April. The Fed said industrial production was unchanged in April after falling by 0.3 percent in March. Economists had expected industrial production to rise by 0.2 percent.

RTTNews | 3h 43min atrás

New York Manufacturing Index Edges Modestly Lower In May

A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said regional manufacturing activity continued to decline modestly in the month of May. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index edged down to a negative 9.2 in May from a negative 8.1 in April, with a negative reading indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to dip to a negative 10.0.

RTTNews | 3h 56min atrás

Philly Fed Index Jumps More Than Expected But Remains Negative In May

Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity remained weak in the month of May, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity jumped to a negative 4.0 in May from a negative 26.4 in April, but a negative reading still indicates contraction.

RTTNews | 4h 50min atrás

U.S. Retail Sales Inch Up In Line With Estimates In April

A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed a slight increase by U.S. retail sales in the month of April. The Commerce Department said retail sales crept up by 0.1 percent in April after surging by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in March. Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 1.4 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

RTTNews | 5h 5min atrás

U.S. Producer Prices Unexpectedly Decrease In April

Producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of April, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell by 0.5 percent in April following a revised unchanged reading in March. Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.2 percent.

RTTNews | 5h 8min atrás

U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unchanged From Upwardly Revised Level

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in unchanged in the week ended May 10th The report said initial jobless claims came in at 229,000 last week, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. Economists had expected jobless claims to tick up to 229,000 from the 228,000 originally reported for the previous week.

RTTNews | 5h 17min atrás

EURUSD	1.11744	GBPUSD	1.3296	AUDUSD	0.64029
USDJPY	145.684	USDCAD	1.39664	USDCHF	0.83646

Advertisement

U.S. Housing Starts Rebound 9.8% In February, Much More Than Expected