2021.06.1612:39:00UTC+00U.S. Housing Starts Rebound 3.6% In May

After reporting a sharp pullback in new residential construction in the U.S. in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing housing starts rebounded in the month of May.

The Commerce Department said housing starts jumped by 3.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.572 million in May after plunging by 12.1 percent to a revised rate of 1.517 million in April.

Economists had expected housing starts to surge by 3.9 percent to a rate of 1.630 million from the 1.569 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said building permits slumped by 3.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.681 million in May after falling by 1.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.733 million in April.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to decrease by 1.7 percent to a rate of 1.730 million from the 1.760 million originally reported for the previous month.