2021.07.2012:38:00UTC+00U.S. Housing Starts Spike More Than Expected In June

New residential construction in the U.S. showed a substantial increase in the month of June, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

The Commerce Department said housing starts spiked by 6.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.643 million in June after jumping by 2.1 percent to a revised rate of 1.546 million in May.

Economists had expected housing starts to increase by 1.1 percent to a rate of 1.590 million from the 1.572 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report showed building permits tumbled by 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.598 million in June after slumping by 2.9 percent to a revised rate of 1.683 million in May.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to climb by 1.1 percent to a rate of 1.700 million from the 1.681 million originally reported for the previous month.