WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly saw further downside in the month of February, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday.
The report said construction spending dipped by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of $2.091 trillion in February after edging down by 0.2 percent to a revised rate of $2.097 trillion in January.
The continued decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected construction spending to climb by 0.6 percent during the month.
The unexpected decline largely reflected a steep drop in spending on public construction, which slumped by 1.2 percent to an annual rate of $474.4 billion.
Spending on educational construction plunged by 1.8 percent to an annual rate of $100.5 billion, while spending on highway construction tumbled by 1.6 percent to a rate of $147.3 billion.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said spending on private construction in February came in at an annual rate of $1.617 trillion, virtually unchanged from the revised January estimate.
While spending on residential construction climbed by 0.7 percent to an annual rate of $901.1 billion, spending on non-residential construction slid by 0.9 percent to a rate of $716.0 billion.
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