U.S. building permits rise to 7-month high in August

Forexpros - The number of building permits issued in the U.S. rose unexpectedly in August, climbing to the highest level since January official data showed on Tuesday. In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau said the number of building permits issued in August rose 3.2% to a seasonally adjusted 0.62 million from 0.60 million in July.Analysts had expected building permits to decline 1.8% to 0.59 million units in August.U.S. housing starts dropped 5.0% in August to hit a seasonally adjusted 0.57 million from 0.60 million in July, worse than expectations for a 2.3% decline to 0.59 million.Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was fractionally lower against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.05% to trade at 1.3695.Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices held on to gains after the release of the data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.5%, S&P 500 futures added 0.55%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a gain of 0.65%.
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