The US construction sector experienced an unforeseen drop in February, the Commerce Department revealed on Monday. The data showed that construction spending fell by 0.3 percent, reaching an annual rate of $2.091 trillion. This followed a slim decrease of 0.2 percent in January, revising the rate to $2.097 trillion.
This prolonged downturn was unpredicted by economists, who had anticipated an increase in construction spending by 0.6 percent for the month. The unexpected fall is primarily attributed to a notable reduction in public construction spending, which plunged by 1.2 percent to an annual rate of $474.4 billion.