The monthly data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Wednesday that Housing Starts rose 21.7% on a monthly basis in May following the 2.9% decline (revised from +2.2%) recorded in April. This reading surpassed the market expectation for a decline of 0.8% by a wide margin.
In the same period, Building Permits rose 5.2%, compared to analysts' estimate for a 5% contraction.
The US Dollar Index gained traction with the immediate reaction to these data and was last seen posting small daily gains at 102.55.