A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed a sharp increase in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of December.
The Commerce Department said housing starts surged by 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.404 million in December after jumping by 3.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.322 million in November. Economists had expected housing starts to come in at an annual rate of 1.33 million.
The report also said building permits shot up by 4.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.448 million in December after slumping by 1.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.388 million in November.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to come in at an annual rate of 1.400 million.
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