Housing Starts Climb 2.3%

Housing starts rose 2.3% last month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

New starts rose to a 1.467 million unit annual rate, Commerce said. May’s housing starts were revised down to a 1.434 million rate, from an earlier 1.474 million.

The June level was higher than economists’ forecasts of a decline to 1.45 million, Bloomberg reported.

Building permits, an indicator of future construction, fell 7.5%, Commerce said.