2021.06.0114:57:00UTC+00U.S. Construction Spending Inches Up To New Record High In April

A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed U.S. construction spending increased by less than expected in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said construction spending edged up by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of $1.524 trillion in April after jumping by 1.0 percent to an upwardly revised rate of $1.521 trillion in March.

Economists had expected construction spending to climb by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

With the modest increase from March's upwardly revised level, the annual rate of construction spending hit a new record high in April.

The report showed spending on private construction rose by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of $1.181 trillion in April.

While spending on residential construction surged up by 1.0 percent to a rate of $729.2 billion, the jump was partly offset by a 0.5 percent drop in spending on non-residential construction to a rate of $451.4 billion.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said spending on public construction fell by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of $343.5 billion amid a decrease in spending on educational construction.

The report also showed total construction spending in April was up by 9.8 percent compared to the same month a year ago.