The housing market takes center stage in a light week of economic news, with reports on new construction and existing home sales. The strengthening manufacturing sector will also be tested in the latest reading on industrial production.
Housing starts rose to a four-month high in February despite higher mortgage rates, driven by the strongest pace of single-family home building since 2007. But that performance was likely inflated by unusually warm winter weather that pulled forward starts to early in the year. Some offsetting weakness, as well as much lower temperatures and snowstorms that hit the Midwest and Northeast, were expected to hamper new residential construction in March.
