Construction spending fell 1.2% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $902.5 billion, more than twice the median economist estimate, as a record high in federal construction spending did not offset declines in private construction, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.
Economists expected construction spending to fall 0.5% in December, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Construction spending for November was revised lower to a 1.2% decline from a 0.6% decline initially reported.