US construction spending expected to show slight acceleration in June

The Commerce Department reports on U.S. construction spending in June. The report will be released at 10 a.m. EDT Friday.

BUILDING HIGHER: The expectation is that construction spending rose 0.3 percent in June, according to a survey of economists by data firm FactSet.

HOMES AND OFFICES: Economists expect that spending on single-family construction likely declined again in June but that weakness will be offset somewhat by strength in other areas such as nonresidential construction and government projects.

In May there were gains in non-residential projects and public construction but a big drop in home building.

Economists still expect housing and overall construction will regain momentum in coming months, helping to boost overall economic growth.

Some of that rebound could be seen in the latest report on overall economic growth which showed the gross domestic product rising at an annual rate of 4 percent in the April-June quarter, helped by a positive increase in residential construction.

A slump in construction in the winter contributed to the economy shrinking at an annual rate of 2.1 percent in the January-March quarter, the biggest decline since the first quarter of 2009 during the depths of the Great Recession.

Economists believe the rebound to a 4 percent growth rate in the second quarter will be followed by solid growth of around 3 percent in the second half of this year.