US Construction Spending Logs Surprise Fall In April

US construction spending shrunk unexpectedly in April amid declines in both private and public construction, preliminary data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed Monday.

Construction spending dipped 0.1 percent to $2,099.0 billion from the revised estimate of $2,101.5 billion in March.

Spending was expected to grow 0.2 percent after a 0.2 percent decrease in March.

The April figure was 10.0 percent higher than the April 2023 estimate of $1,907.8 billion.

In April, spending on private construction was $1,611.9 billion, which was 0.1 percent lower from the revised March estimate of $1,613.3 billion.

Residential construction grew 0.1 percent to $890.4 billion from a revised $889.5 billion in March. Non-residential construction shrunk 0.3 percent to $721.5 billion from a revised $723.8 billion in the previous month.

Public construction spending totaled $487.1 billion in April, down 0.2 percent from the revised March estimate of $488.2 billion.

With this, educational construction decreased 0.2 percent to $103.5 billion from a revised $103.6 billion in the previous month. Highway construction shrunk 0.5 percent to $149.6 billion from the revised March estimate of $150.4 billion.

During the first four months of this year, construction spending totaled $635.5 billion, up 10.9 percent from the $573.0 billion for the same period last year.

Don’t get caught off guard. Track key Economic Events with RTTNews Economic Trading Calendar.