2019.12.0214:43:00UTC+00U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Drops 0.8% In October

A report released by the Commerce Department on Monday showed an unexpected decrease in U.S. construction spending in the month of October.

The Commerce Department said construction spending fell by 0.8 percent to an annual rate of $1.291 trillion in October after slipping by 0.3 percent to a revised $1.302 trillion in September.

Economists had expected construction spending to climb by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpected drop in construction spending was partly due to a decrease in spending on private construction, which tumbled by 1.0 percent to a rate of $956.3 billion in October.

Spending on residential construction slumped by 0.9 percent to a rate of $508.2 billion, while spending on non-residential construction plunged by 1.2 percent to a rate of $448.1 billion.

The report said spending on public construction also dipped by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of $334.8 billion in October, reflecting a steep drop in spending on highway construction.

Despite the monthly decrease, total construction spending in October was up by 1.1 percent compared to the same month a year ago.