FX.co ★ U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Dips 0.3% In June

In a recent report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday, it was revealed that construction spending in the U.S. saw an unexpected decline in June.

The data indicated that construction spending decreased by 0.3% to an annual rate of $2.148 trillion in June, following a revised drop of 0.4% to $2.155 trillion in May. This continued downward trend caught economists off guard, as they had anticipated a 0.2% increase compared to the previously reported 0.1% decline for the prior month.

The drop in construction spending was primarily influenced by a 0.3% reduction in private construction expenditures, bringing the annual rate to $1.665 trillion. Within this category, residential construction spending decreased by 0.3% to an annual rate of $928.0 billion, while non-residential construction saw a marginal decline of 0.1% to $736.6 billion.

Public construction spending also experienced a downturn, falling by 0.4% to an annual rate of $483.9 billion. This included a significant 0.9% drop in educational construction spending, which reached an annual rate of $101.9 billion, and a 0.3% decline in highway construction spending, which amounted to an annual rate of $143.5 billion.