Forexpros – The number of housing starts in the U.S. rose more-than-expected in June, hitting the highest level since April 2010, official data showed Wednesday.
The report also showed that building permits issued fell more-than-expected, painting a mixed picture of the U.S. housing sector.
In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau that U.S. housing starts rose by 6.9% in June to a seasonally adjusted 0.760 million, compared to expectations for a gain of 5.2% to 0.745 million.
Housing starts for May were revised up to 0.711 million units, up from a previously reported 0.708 million units.
The report also showed that the number of building permits issued in June fell 3.7% to a seasonally adjusted 0.755 million, compared to expectations for a decline of 2.4% to 0.765 million.
Building permits issued in May totaled 0.784 million.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar remained higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.49% to trade at 1.2234.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices held on to losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.25%, S&P 500 futures shed 0.25%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a loss of 0.2% at the open.
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