U.S. Construction Spending Rises in March

Spending on construction projects in the United States increased in March but the increase came below market expectations, official data showed.

U.S. construction spending increased by 0.2% in March to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.51 trillion, according to data by the U.S. Department of Commerce released on Monday.

A recent poll by the Wall Street Journal was expecting the index to increase by 1.8%.

Construction spending still rose by 5.3% on an annual basis.

The February reading was revised to a decline of 0.6% from an initial estimate of a 0.8% decrease.

Spending on private construction grew by 0.7%, while public construction spending plunged by 1.5%.

Meanwhile, residential construction increased by 1.7%, while spending on nonresidential and infrastructure sectors leveled down by 0.9%.