U.S. Construction Spending Climbs Much More Than Expected In December

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Monday showed construction spending in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of December.

The Commerce Department said construction spending climbed by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of $2.192 trillion in December after rising by 0.2 percent to a revised rate of $2.180 trillion in November. Economist had expected construction spending to inch up by 0.2 percent.

The bigger than expected increase by construction spending came as spending on private construction grew by 0.9 percent to an annual rate of $1.689 trillion.

Spending on residential construction led the way higher, jumping by 1.5 percent to a rate of $939.5 billion, while spending on non-residential crept up by 0.1 percent to a rate of $749.0 billion.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said spending on public construction fell by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of $503.6 billion.

While spending on educational construction slid by 0.6 percent to a rate of $109.5 billion, spending on highway construction climbed by 0.7 percent to a rate of $143.3 billion.