[US HOUSING STARTS] rose 3.5% in May to a 560k pace (SAAR) from...

[US HOUSING STARTS] rose 3.5% in May to a 560k pace (SAAR) from the 541k starts posted for April (revised from 523k). That is far stronger than suggested by yesterday's NAHB data and a good bit better than the median estimate. Not only that, but building permit issuance rose 8.7% to a 612k pace from the prior month's 563k. Among starts, singles were up 3.5%, while multi-family starts rose 3.7% in the month. Permit issuance was up 2.5% among singles, while multi-unit permits were up 23.2%.

[US JOBLESS CLAIMS DATA] New jobless claims for week ended June 11 fell 16K to 414K from revised 430K (427K) last time. Consensus f/cast was for -7K. The 4-week average held at 424.9, marking 8th straight week over 400K, below which signals stronger hiring. A year ago, 4-wk avg was 467K. Meanwhile, continuing claims for week ended June 4 fell 21K to 3.675 mln from 3.696 mln last time. They have been under 4 mln mark since mid-Jan. A year ago they were 4.59 mln. Key to see if claims stays above 400K this summer in light of May's dismal jobs data. If that proves the case, soft patch fears will turn into double-dip angst. There is that plenty of slack still in labor mkt to limit wage-led inflation