US housing starts went up by 3% to an annual rate of 1.288 million in February after slumping by 1.9 percent to a revised 1.251 million in January, according to the US Commerce Department.
Economists had expected housing starts to climb to a rate of 1.260 million from the 1.246 million originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said building permits tumbled by 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.213 million in February after surging up by 5.3 percent to a revised 1.293 million in January.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to drop to a rate of 1.260 million from the 1.285 million originally reported for the previous month.
