November Construction Spending Comes in Hot; Rates Hold Steady Despite Fed’s Warning

November Construction Spending Comes in Hot; Rates Hold Steady Despite Fed’s Warning

Construction spending in November came in slightly above analysts' consensus for an increase of 0.6 percent. Overall expenditures for construction put in place during the month were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.257 trillion, a 0.8 percent gain from October and up 2.7 percent from November 2016. The October estimate was revised up from $1.242 trillion to $1.247 trillion. On a non-adjusted basis, November spending totaled $105.8 billion, down from $112.9 billion in October. Year-to-date spending through November was estimated at $1.138 trillion, a 4.2 percent increase over the same period in 2016. Spending on private construction projects rose 1.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $964.3 billion. This was ahead of the November 2016 pace by 2.6 percent. Spending for