US housing starts recover in June
US housing starts jumped to their speediest pace for over three years in June, according to Commerce Department data released yesterday. Starts were up 6.9 per cent on the month, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 760,000, the highest rate since the false-start recovery in late 2008. “Housing continues to be the one sector of the US economy that is outperforming expectations,” said Barclays economist Michael Gapen.