Washington, DC, Mar. 1--Spending on new construction slid unexpectedly in January, a Commerce Department report showed on Monday, reflecting continued weakness in commercial building.
Commerce said spending dipped 0.3 percent in the month, after an upwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in December, to a $931.18 billion annual pace. The drop was the first since May 2003 and came despite Wall Street economists' projections for a slight gain of 0.2 percent.
While outlays for residential construction, the largest single sector in the report, held virtually steady in January, spending on new office and commercial building lagged.
Private office construction outlays fell by 5.2 percent in the month and were down by 5.0 percent compared with January 2003. Commercial building was off by 2.6 percent in January.
Publicly funded construction posted a slight gain in January, even as outlays at the state and local levels declined for a fourth straight month. Public construction spending rose by 0.2 percent, aided by a hefty 18.8 percent increase in spending on conservation and development projects. State and local outlays, at a $197.43 billion annual rate, were at their slowest pace since May 2003, Commerce said.
