It is rather surprising that the US housing starts data rose
5.0% to 1.957 million in May, particularly when the debate continues on the slow-down in the US home market. Home
construction data rose in May from a 13-month low as builders worked on backlogs of unfilled orders and used incentives to
win new business in a slowing market. Given the backlog of orders, this increase should be witnessed as a dead-cat bounce
rather than a sharp revival in the US housing segment.