A recent release from the Commerce Department on Monday revealed a notable increase in U.S. construction spending for December, surpassing prior expectations. According to the report, construction spending rose by 0.5%, reaching an annualized rate of $2.192 trillion, up from a revised $2.180 trillion reported in November, where it had increased by 0.2%. Market analysts had anticipated a modest 0.2% rise.
This unexpected surge was largely driven by a 0.9% rise in private construction expenditures, bringing the annual rate to $1.689 trillion. Within this sector, residential construction notably contributed to the uptick, with spending accelerating by 1.5% to an annualized $939.5 billion. On the other hand, non-residential construction spending saw a slight increase of 0.1%, reaching $749.0 billion.
Conversely, public construction spending experienced a downturn, decreasing by 0.5% to an annual rate of $503.6 billion. Despite this decline, highway construction expenditures reported a 0.7% growth to $143.3 billion, while educational construction saw a decrease of 0.6%, settling at a rate of $109.5 billion.
