US Oct Const Spending down 1% ,Sharpest Fall since Sept 2001

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Overall construction spending fell at the fastest pace in more than five years as private home construction suffered its longest streak of declines on record, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Construction spending fell by 1.0 pct in October to 1.178 trln usd. That s the sharpest decline since September 2001 and the lowest level of construction since last October.
Economists had expected overall construction spending to fall 0.4 pct in October.
For the month, private residential construction plunged by 1.9 pct to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 597.1 bln usd. That s the seventh consecutive monthly decline. The drop in October caps the longest set of consecutive declines on record.

Non-residential private construction fell by 0.7 pct in October to 308.2 bln usd, the lowest level since July and the second consecutive drop. It s the sharpest drop in the sector since July 2005.

Meanwhile, total public construction rose 0.8 pct to an all-time high of 273.1 bln usd as federal construction spending surged 11.6 pct in October.

The department said total construction spending fell 0.8 pct in September, a sharper fall than the earlier estimate that construction spending fell by 0.3 pct in the month.