17.11.201708:37:00UTC+00U.S. Housing Starts Jump More Than Expected In October

New residential construction in the U.S. jumped by much more than expected in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.

The report said housing starts spiked by 13.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.290 million in October from a revised 1.135 million in September.

Economists had expected housing starts to climb to an annual rate of 1.185 million from the 1.127 million originally reported for the previous month.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, also surged up by 5.9 percent to a rate of 1.297 million in October from a revised 1.225 million in September.