US Construction Spending Just Collapsed
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Aug 1, 2017
Headline growth in US construction spending collapsed in July to just 1.6% YoY – the weakest since 2011.
As Reuters reports, U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in June as investment in public projects recorded its biggest drop since March 2002. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that construction spending tumbled 1.3 percent to $1.21 trillion – the lowest level since September 2016 – drastically missing economists’ estimates of a 0.4% increase.
However, most ironic in the government’s report was, amid The White House constant chatter of the need for infrastructure spending in America, Federal government construction spending crashed 9.5% – the largest drop since December 2010.
Public construction spending has hovered in negative territory for the most part of the past year and requires a strong infrastructure spending for its revival. The latest data suggest state and local investment was weaker-than-previously estimated and imply a further modest downward revision to 2Q GDP.
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