|
contents | news | |||||||||
| US construction spending sets all-time high in Sept US construction spending rose by 0.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.12 trillion dollars, hitting an all-time high, the Commerce Department reported. The September increase in construction spending followed strong gains of 0.6 percent in both August and July. Data released by the department showed that overall private construction spending advanced by 0.6 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 871.5 billion dollars, also setting a record. Of that, private residential building went up one percent to a record of 624.3 billion dollars. Private spending on nonresidential projects including offices and commercial buildings stood at 247.2 billion dollars. In September, total government construction spending was unchanged at an annual rate of 248.5 billion dollars following a rise of 0.4 percent in August. Construction spending at the state and local level increased by 0.3 percent to a record high of 231.9 billion dollars while federal building projects dipped by 4.5 percent to an annual rate of 16.7 billion dollars. The reading for construction activity in September suggested that builders took advantage of interest rates that are still low by historical standards, analysts say. But they believe the activity is likely to slow down in coming months as home mortgage rates rise. Last week, rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages in the UnitedStates climbed to 6.15 percent, the highest level in 15 months. That was the fourth consecutive weekly increase in mortgage rates. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Construction News :: home page |