Residential construction picked up last month, according to the US Census Bureau. Housing starts beat expectations and increased to an annualized rate of 1.072 million units on a seasonally adjusted basis—the most since last November. More permits were issued last month as well: 1.080 million (annualized) in May, the highest number since the recession ended in mid-2009. The monthly gain delivered a dramatic boost to the year-over-year in comparison for starts, which increased more than 26% last month vs. a year earlier. That’s the strongest annual rate since last November. Permits, however, slumped a bit in the annual comparison, decelerating to a slim 3.9% advance.
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