New residential construction in the U.S. unexpectedly increased in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.
The report said housing starts jumped by 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.372 million in October after surging by 3.1 percent to a downwardly revised rate of 1.346 million in September.
Economists had expected housing starts to dip to a rate of 1.350 million from the 1.358 million originally reported for the previous month.
The Commerce Department said building permits also shot up by 1.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.487 million in October after plunging by 4.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.471 million in September.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to decrease to a rate of 1.450 million from the 1.475 million originally reported for the previous month.
