Washington, Oct 2 (IANS) The US construction spending dropped in August as both private and public building activities declined, the Department of Commerce reported.
Construction spending in August was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $837.1 billion, 0.6 percent below the revised $842.0 billion in July, the department said in a report Monday.
It followed a 0.4 percent fall in July, marking the second consecutive monthly decline. Compared with the level of a year earlier, the August figure was still 6.5 percent higher, reported Xinhua.
In August, spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $562.2 billion, 0.5 percent lower than the revised July figure. Residential construction rose 0.9 percent on monthly basis while non-residential construction fell 1.7 percent.
The estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $274.9 billion, 0.8 percent below the revised July reading.
The US housing market is struggling for a turnaround about six years after the bubble burst. Although recent sales and prices indicators were mainly upbeat, many economists believe that the housing sector still has a long way to go before a full recovery.
