WASHINGTON — Construction spending rose 1.0%, as expected, in November following a 0.9% gain in October, data released by the Commerce Department Thursday morning showed.
The November gain was fueled by a rebound in private residential construction and a further increase in private nonresidential construction, which more than offset a pullback in public construction.
Private residential spending rose 1.9%, led by a 1.8% rebound in single-family construction that followed a 0.4% decline in the previous month. In addition, construction of multi-family homes rose 0.9% in the month, a smaller rise than the 3.4% gain in October.
Residential construction excluding new homes, which captures home remodeling, rose 2.2% after falling 1.3% in October, according to an MNI calculation.
Total private residential construction now stands at $345.5 billion, the highest level since June 2008.
Nonresidential private construction rose 2.7% on widespread gains. Only education and health care building declined in the month.
Public construction fell 1.8% in November following a 3.1% surge in the previous month. State and local government spending, the much larger portion of public construction, fell 1.7% in the month following a 2.8% rise in October. Also, federal government construction declined 3.7% in the month following a 6.5% rebound in the previous month following the federal government shutdown.
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