U.S. Construction Spending Climbs More Than Expected In March

(RTTNews) - With an increase in spending on private construction more than offsetting a dip in spending on public construction, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing U.S. construction spending rose by more than expected in the month of March.

The Commerce Department said construction spending climbed by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of $2.185 trillion in March after slipping by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of $2.173 trillion in February. Economists had expected construction spending to rise by 0.4 percent.

The report said spending on private construction grew by 0.8 percent to an annual rate of $1.659 trillion in March after edging down by 0.2 percent to $1.646 trillion in February.

Spending on residential construction led the way higher, surging by 1.7 percent to an annual rate of $929.7 billion, while spending on non-residential construction dipped by 0.2 percent to $731.0 billion.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said spending on public construction slipped by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of $526.4 billion in March after falling by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of $527.6 billion in February.

While spending on highway construction edged down by 0.1 percent to an annual rate of $147.8 billion, spending on educational construction slid by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of $113.0 billion.