U.S. Housing Starts Unexpectedly Surge 7.2% In January

(RTTNews) - New residential construction in the U.S. unexpectedly surged in the month of January, the Commerce Department revealed in a report released on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said housing starts spiked by 7.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.487 million in January after jumping by 4.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.387 million in December.

Economists had expected housing starts to slump by 3.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.350 million from the 1.404 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report also said building permits plunged by 5.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.376 million in January after surging by 4.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.455 million in December.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to tumble by 5.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.410 million from the 1.448 million originally reported for the previous month.