WASHINGTON - Construction spending fell 0.2% in March, with a dip in public building accounting for the decline, data released by the Commerce Department Monday morning showed.
Analysts had expected construction spending to rise 0.5% after a solid gain in February. With the latest data, February construction was revised up even higher to a 1.8% increase from the 0.8% gain in the previous estimate, while January spending was revised up sharply to a 0.8% increase from the 0.4% decrease previously reported.
Private residential construction spending rose 1.2% in the month following a 2.5% gain in February, as new home building was up 0.7% based on an MNI calculation. Single-family building rose 0.3%, while multi-family building was up 2.0%.
Adding to the gain in new home building, residential construction excluding new homes, which captures home remodeling, rose 2.% in March after a 4.2% increase in February.
Private nonresidential construction was down 1.3% in March after a 0.8% rise in February. In March, declines in office and commercial construction more than offset a gain in manufacturing production.
Public construction fell 0.9% in March. State and local government spending, the much larger portion of public construction, was down 1.4% after a 2.5% increase in February, while Federal government construction rose 4.5% in March after a 0.7% decline in February.
