There was a 7 percent surge in housing starts last month, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development report.
As The Associated Press notes, the pace of construction — 1.04 million starts, at an annual rate — is the fastest in nearly five years and is another sign that the housing sector continues to recover from its 2007-08 crash.
Also Tuesday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said consumer prices fell 0.2 percent in March. The driving factor was a 4.4 percent plunge in gas prices.
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