Housing Starts is a monthly economic reading released by the US Census Bureau, measuring the seasonally adjusted annual rate of new buildings construction during any given month. Higher than expected readings are usually positive for the US Dollar and the US economy, showing expansion in the housing sector. The Housing Starts number is important because there are a lot services related to the construction of new houses, so higher readings can have a positive effect for a higher economic growth in many other economic and business sectors.
The United States Housing Starts
The United States Housing Starts latest reading for May was 1.092 million, lower than the expectation of 1.215 million. The index fell for a 3rd consecutive month hitting an 8-month low price, which can have negative effects to economic growth in the future and a lower GDP reading. The long-term average for the Housing Starts and the period of years 1959-2017 stands at 1.437 million, with an all-time high price of 2.494 million in January of 1972 and an all-time low price of 0.478 million in April of 2009. For the 1st semester of 2017, the index peaked at February with a reading of 1.288 million, having 3 consecutive months of declines until May of 2017.
