US housing starts rise past forecasts in July

US housing starts jumped past forecasts in July even as a key lead-indicator for activity in the sector unexpectedly dipped.

The pace at which builders Stateside broke ground on new homes increased by 2.1% month-on-month to reach an annualised pace of 1.21m, according to the Department of Commerce.

Economist had projected an annualised rate of 1.176m.

Starts of single family homes rose by 0.5% month-on-month to 770,000.

By geographical regions the largest rise in starts was seen in the Northeast, were they grew 15.5% on the month, while falling by 5.9% in the West.

New building permits on the other hand dipped by 0.1% over the month to 1.152m (consensus: 1.160m), although they were 0.9% above year-earlier levels.