National Average Price Per Gallon: $3.010
The average price of U.S. regular-grade gasoline shot up 7 cents over the past two weeks. Diesel prices followed suit and also rose in every major U.S. region.
A global rise in crude oil prices was the cause of the jump.
Unfortunately, analysts predict that crude oil prices will continue to rise over the next few weeks.
Framing lumber: $491
Panels/plywood: $540
After many weeks of strong framing lumber trading, the market finally hit a downward trend. The series of snowstorms that recently hit the Eastern U.S. contributed to muted buying activity.
Structural panel trading was more mixed. A supply disruption at the mill of a major OSB producer hit southern markets hard and pushed demand higher.
The size of the job market rose by 806,000 people in February. This was the biggest one-month gain since 2003, and the 10th largest ever on record.
Analysts attribute the rise to a rush of job seekers returning to the job market after having previously given up looking for work. The high number of job openings (about 313,000 in February) coaxed many of these workers back into the active labor force.
Sources: Random Lengths, EIA, CNN Money, CNBC