Construction spending in the U.S. came in virtually unchanged in the month of April, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday.
The Commerce Department said construction spending edged down by less than a tenth of a percent to an annual rate of $1,298.5 billion in April after inching up by 0.1 percent to a revised rate of $1,299.2 billion in March.
The slight drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected spending to climb by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.9 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.
The nearly unchanged rate of construction spending came as a jump in spending on public construction was offset by a steep drop in spending on private construction.
While spending on public construction surged up by 4.8 percent to an annual rate of $344.6 billion, spending on private construction tumbled by 1.7 percent to a rate of $954.0 billion.
Spending on residential construction slid by 0.6 percent and spending on non-residential construction plunged by 2.9 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Forex News
