Signs of strengthening US economy

US housing construction rose last month to the highest since January and the number of people continuing to collect jobless benefits fell to the lowest in two months, signs the economy is beginning to strengthen.

Mortgage rates fell to the lowest on record in June, causing applications for home purchases to approach an all-time high.

The reports underscore Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s message to Congress this week that “statistic by statistic,” economic data are coming in “somewhat better than what we expect”.