U.S. housing starts rise unexpectedly increase in September

RBC reported that housing starts in the U.S. unexpectedly rose by 0.3% in September to an annualized pace of 610K units, representing the third consecutive monthly increase, following August’s 10.5% increase to an upwardly revised 608K annualized units (previously reported 598K) and July’s 2.0% rise, and the fastest pace of starts since April. Market expectations going into today’s report were for a 3.0% decline to 580K annualized units. Building permits, however, surprised to the downside by falling 5.6% to an annualized 539K and compared to market expectations for a slight 0.7% rise to 575K.