US September Construction Spending Drops 1.9% as Private Residential Outlays Slump

U.S. construction spending fell 1.9% month-over-month in September to an annualized rate of $2,186.1 billion, missing economist expectations of a 0.3% to 0.4% increase. The contraction followed an upwardly revised 2.0% increase in August to $2.227 trillion. The September decline was driven by a 2.4% drop in private construction, led by a 5.5% plunge in private residential spending to $848.8 billion. Private non-residential spending gained 1.1% to $790.6 billion, while public construction spending edged down 0.1% to $546.8 billion. Year-over-year, overall construction spending decreased 2.7%.