U.S. housing starts rise in April, demand likely to rise

U.S. housing starts rise in April. Starts were up 5.7 percent, rising to 1.24 million units from a marked upwardly revised 1.17 million units in March. The rise was widespread, with both single and multi-family starts coming in higher. Single-family starts rose 6.2 percent to 854k, while the more volatile multi-family segment recorded a rise of 4.7 percent to 381k.

Permits rose 0.6 percent to 1.3 million in April after three straight months of falls. The rise was concentrated in the multi-family segment which was up 8.9 percent. Single family permits recorded its fifth straight fall at -4.2 percent.

Region wise, the outturn was evenly split with considerable gains recorded in the Northeast and Midwest, while falls were seen in the West and the South.

Housing starts in April continue to build on modest gains seen in March – reversing the fall that was previously reported for that month.

“Looking beneath the headline print, the increase was spread across both market segments and featured sizeable gains in two out of four regions”, noted TD Economics in a research report.

Easing home prices, falling mortgage rates and increased wages might continue to buoy demand as the busy Spring season picks up, added TD Economics.

At 18:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was bullish at 74.4968 more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex