Com a conversa do Bernanke até me escapou os dados do "Housing starts".
The residential real-estate rebound suffered a setback in June as housing starts unexpectedly fell to the lowest level in almost a year, curbing how much construction contributed to U.S. economic growth last quarter.
Work began on 836,000 houses at an annualized rate, the least since August and down 9.9 percent from a revised 928,000 pace in May, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The drop was led by a 26.2 percent plunge in multifamily projects, which are more volatile than work on single-family homes.
The figures were in contrast to a report yesterday showing homebuilders this month were the most optimistic in seven years as sales improved, indicating the reversal will probably prove temporary. The slump came as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said monthly asset purchases aimed at spurring the economy could be reduced or expanded as conditions warrant, with housing one area policy makers will monitor.
“As construction ramps up, we’re bound to have some hiccups along the way,” said Guy Lebas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia. Having called for 915,000 starts, Lebas had the lowest estimate in the Bloomberg survey. “I don’t think this one data point is immediately concerning. The housing markets are going to be a driver of economic growth.”
In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Bernanke today said the central bank’s $85 billion a month in bond purchases “are by no means on a preset course.” He also said housing activity and prices seem likely to continue to recover, notwithstanding the recent increases in mortgage rates.The residential real-estate rebound suffered a setback in June as housing starts unexpectedly fell to the lowest level in almost a year, curbing how much construction contributed to U.S. economic growth last quarter.
