U.S. Construction Spending Rose in October

Spending on construction across the U.S. rose in October on gains in private and public building.

Total U.S. construction spending increased 1.4% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.242 trillion in October, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.5% increase in October. The spending increase in September was unrevised at 0.3%.

Private construction, which includes office construction and homebuilding, was up 0.6% in October from the previous month. Public construction was up 3.9%, the largest jump in three years and the third consecutive monthly increase for this category. October's increase in public outlays was pushed by gains in federal construction spending.

The Commerce Department's latest report on construction spending can be accessed at https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/release.pdf

Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com and Sharon Nunn at sharon.nunn@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 01, 2017 10:15 ET (15:15 GMT)