U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Decreases In January

(RTTNews) - Construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday.

The report said construction spending fell by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of $2.190 trillion in January after climbing by 0.8 percent to a revised rate of $2.198 trillion in December.

Economists had expected construction spending to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpected pullback by construction spending came as spending on private construction declined by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of $1.661 trillion.

The report said spending on residential construction slid by 0.8 percent to an annual rate of $993.0 billion, while spending on non-residential construction fell by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of $728.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said spending on public construction increased by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of $529.2 billion.

Spending on highway construction surged by 3.3 percent to an annual rate of $148.5 billion, while spending on educational construction dipped by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of $114.1 billion.