Partly reflecting a steep drop in spending on public construction, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. construction spending in the month of July.
The report said construction spending fell by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of $1.212 trillion in July from the revised June estimate of $1.219 trillion. Economists had expected spending to rise by 0.5 percent.
The unexpected decrease came as spending on public construction tumbled by 1.4 percent to an annual rate of $266.0 billion. Spending on educational construction showed a steep 4.4 percent drop.
The Commerce Department said spending on private construction also dipped by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of $945.5 billion.
Spending on non-residential construction slumped by 1.9 percent, more than offsetting a 0.4 percent increase in spending on residential construction.
Despite the monthly decrease, the Commerce Department said construction spending in July was up by 1.8 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
