Dive Brief:

• A 13% dip in construction starts in March was among the contributors to a near-standstill in U.S. economic growth during the first three months of 2015.

• The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday that gross domestic product increased 0.2% in the first quarter of 2015. GDP measures goods and services produced by the economy.

• Economists had predicted growth of 1% after the economy picked up by 2.2% during last year’s fourth quarter, according to a Reuters poll.

Dive Insight:

Some are looking to housing to perk up the economy in the second quarter.

Writing in Forbes, economist Steve Blitz of ITG Investment Research noted that lower energy prices and a strengthening dollar are hurting domestic production. “What is therefore left to accelerate the economy is residential construction,” he said.