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%.