A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed a sharp increase in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of March but a steep drop in building permits.
The Commerce Department said housing starts soared by 10.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.502 million in March after tumbling by 3.0 percent to a rate of 1.356 million in February. Economists had expected housing starts to come in at an annual rate of 1.400 million.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.