Construction spending in the U.S. witnessed a modest increase in June, with both companies and the government initiating more projects across the country.
According to a report by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, spending on construction projects rose by 0.5% in June, reaching $1.94 trillion. However, this figure fell short of the expectations set by economists on Wall Street, who were forecasting a 0.9% rise in construction spending for June.
Construction spending is a key indicator of both government and private sector investment in various projects, including housing and infrastructure. Greater spending in construction generally signals a higher level of economic activity.
The government revised construction spending data for May, increasing it to 1.1% from the initial estimate of a 0.9% rise.
Over the past year, construction spending has shown a steady uptick of 3.5%.
In terms of residential real estate, private residential construction saw a 0.5% increase in June compared to the previous month. Single-family construction experienced significant growth of 2.1% in June, while multifamily construction rose by 1.5%.
Meanwhile, spending on public residential construction edged up by 0.3%. However, the U.S. reduced investment in public residential construction by 0.2%.
The performance of U.S. stocks varied in early trading on Tuesday, with the DJIA (+0.17%) and SPX (-0.28%) showing mixed results. Additionally, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note (TMUBMUSD10Y, 4.046%) crossed the 4% mark.