LONDON (ShareCast) - US housing starts surged 17.2% in May to 532,000, far higher than the 485,000 expected for the month.
Last month, housing starts came in at 454,000. The Commerce Department also said building permits rose 4% to 518,000 in
May against the 508,000 expected.
In other data, the Producer Price Index (PPI) edged up 0.2% in May versus the rise of 0.3% in April and less than the expected 0.6%. The core PPI slipped 0.1% against the 0.1% gain expected.
The increase was down to a 2.9% rise in energy prices, including a 13.9% jump in the cost of gas, while food prices fell 1.6%.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve said industrial production decreased a greater-than-expected 1.1% in May, with capacity utilization sliding to 68.3%.
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