Housing Starts Climb 9% in February

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New housing starts jumped 9% in February, following a slump in January, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.Housing starts climbed to a 1.525 million-unit annual rate, from January’s 1.399 million, which had been the lowest in almost 10 years, Commerce said.The February rate was above economists’ forecasts of a rise to a 1.45 million pace, Bloomberg reported.Building permits, an indicator of future construction, dipped 2.5%, to a 1.532 million-unit pace. They were expected to drop to 1.55 million, Bloomberg said.The gain was led by a 26% jump in the West and an 18% increase in the South. Starts in the Northeast plunged 305, while the Midwest level fell 14%.Analysts said varied weather patterns were a big factor in the fluctuations since December, Bloomberg reported.