On December 30, 2014 we asked Will $55 oil help or hinder housing starts next year? The answer may not be entirely clear on this as year-end activity in the U.S. in particular finds lumber market activity brisk with upbeat November housing reports. Builders are reportedly stepping up home construction broadly across the U.S., suggesting the housing market will help anchor the economy amid global turbulence and projected four more interest rate hikes next year. So far the winter weather that has known to shut down building, in the lead-up to Christmas in past seasons, has not played a large part. Builders broke ground on 1.173 million units, when calculated at a yearly rate, in November, up 10.5% from a month earlier, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Construction climbed at roughly the same pace in the first 11 months of the year compared with the same period in 2014.