- Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC
U.S. housing starts fell in March but building permits rose to highest level since 2009, Commerce Department data showed on Tuesday. Groundbreakings declined to an annual rate of 0.65 million, while permits advanced to 0.75 million.
"Housing continues to bump along the bottom," said Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York.
"The best we can hope from housing over the next couple years is that it won't subtract from growth. The numbers in the past few months were decidedly impacted by a much milder winter, so a significant portion of construction was pulled forward."
In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said U.S. industrial production stagnated in March, held down by a decline in manufacturing.
"What you're beginning to see is the momentum in the fourth quarter and the beginning of the first slowing in the U.S. economy. I think this is a pretty telling sign of why the Federal Reserve remains cautious…"
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