US: Housing Starts rise by 9.8% in February vs. -0.6% expected

Housing Starts and Building Permits in US rose sharply in February.
US Dollar Index stays under modest bearish pressure despite upbeat data.

The monthly data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Thursday that Housing Starts increased by 9.8% on a monthly basis in February following January's 2% decline. This reading came in much better than the market expectation for a drop of 0.6%.

In the same period, Building Permits surged by 13.8%, compared to the market expectation for a contraction of 0.5%.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index stays on the back foot despite the upbeat data and was last seen losing 0.37% on the day at 104.34.

Mar 16, 2023

US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims decline to 192K vs. 205K expected

There were 192,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending March 11, the weekly data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed on Thursda

More sustained USD losses may develop Fed expectations to go soft on rates next week – Scotiabank

The US Dollar is mixed. Economists at Scotiabank note that the greenback could sustain losses if markets expect the Fed to go soft next week. Choppy r