17.03.202212:41:00UTC+00U.S. Housing Starts Rebound Much More Than Expected In February

After reporting a sharp pullback in new residential construction in the U.S. in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing housing starts rebounded by much more than expected in the month of February.

The report showed housing starts spiked by 6.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.769 million in February after plunging by 5.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.657 million in January.

Economists had expected housing starts to jump by 3.2 percent to a rate of 1.690 million from the 1.638 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report showed building permits slumped by 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.859 million in February after rising by 0.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.895 million in January.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to tumble by 2.6 percent to a rate of 1.850 million from the 1.899 million originally reported for the previous month.