The Commerce Department said construction spending fell 0.4 percent in April to a $1.12 trillion annual rate after a revised 0.6 percent drop in March. Economists were expecting a 0.6 percent decrease in April on the back of a previously reported 1.1 percent March decline.
WASHINGTON, Jun (Reuters) - Construction spending slipped in April as home building continued to plummet, but private spending on non-residential projects rose for a third straight month, government data showed on Monday.
The Commerce Department said construction spending fell 0.4 percent in April to a $1.12 trillion annual rate after a revised 0.6 percent drop in March. Economists were expecting a 0.6 percent decrease in April on the back of a previously reported 1.1 percent March decline.
Spending in the private sector on a range of structures from factories, lodging, offices, and power plants, rose 1.6 percent to a record annual rate. That was offset by private residential construction spending, which fell 2.3 percent for the 26th consecutive monthly decrease to an annual rate not seen since 2002.
Private residential construction was down 21 percent from the year earlier, while total construction spending was off 3.9 percent on the year.
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"A lot of the pain is already in the numbers. We have had such a huge pullback and I have got to believe that the bulk of the drop in construction there is already behind us," said Mark Vitner, an economist with Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Prices for U.S. Treasury bonds rose slightly but stocks were down, with the benchmark Dow Jones industrial average off more than 100 points.
(Reporting by Joanne Morrison; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
