US housing starts surged in February, with the upside surprise boosted by falling lumber prices in the month. Construction projects pushed through a period of rising mortgage rates. Lumber prices climbed Thursday to trade above $400 per thousand board feet Thursday. Data for February showed that new housing construction spiked unexpectedly in February, aided by falling lumber prices during the month while mortgage rates continued to tick higher. Lumber prices jumped Thursday following data showing housing starts on single-family and multi-family homes surged 9.8% last month to 1.45 million units on a seasonally ...