U.S. Construction Spending Rebounded in August

Spending on construction projects across the U.S. rebounded in August.

Total U.S. construction spending rose 0.5% from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.218 trillion, the Commerce Department said Monday, pushing construction spending for the first eight months of 2017 to $806.2 billion, 4.7% above the same period in 2016.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a 0.4% increase in August.

August's spending boost comes after July's construction spending reading dropped a revised 1.2%, which was the third decline in four months at the time.

Private-sector construction was up 4.7% from a year earlier, while public-sector spending was down 5.1% from last year's August reading.

Construction spending by the federal government dropped to its lowest level in about a decade in August. Private residential construction spending rose in August to its highest level since April 2007.

Hurricane Harvey impacted construction activity in Texas only for the last week of the month, and Hurricane Irma didn't have an impact until September, the Commerce Department said.

The Commerce Department report on construction spending can be found at http://www.census.gov/construction/c30/c30index.html.

Write to Sharon Nunn at Sharon.Nunn@wsj.com and Sarah Chaney at Sarah.Chaney@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2017 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)