WASHINGTON - Construction spending slid 1.0% in July as private residential construction sharply decreased, the Commerce Department reported today.
At the same time, June’s construction spending was revised sharply lower to a 0.8% decline from an originally reported 0.1% increase.
Economists expected July construction spending would rise 0.1%, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
July private construction fell 0.8%, as private residential construction declined 2.6%, adding to declines in June and May. However, private nonresidential construction rose 0.8%, the first increase after 15 consecutive monthly declines.
Meanwhile, public construction decreased 1.2%, after rising a downwardly revised 0.6% in June, originally reported as a 1.5% increase. Federal construction dropped 6.5%, more than canceling out a 4.5% rise the previous month that had brought the category to its highest levels on record dating back to January 1993.
