U.S. construction spending increased less than expected in December as prices of construction inputs soared.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that construction spending rose 0.2 percent after advancing an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in November. The earlier report for November showed just a 0.4 percent gain.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending gaining 0.6 percent. Construction spending increased 9.0 percent on a year-on-year basis in December. It rose 8.2 percent for the entire year.
When adjusted for inflation, the figures indicate that the construction sector’s real output is contracting. Prices of goods used in construction in December rose 0.6 percent, according to the Department of Labor’s Producer Price Index, more than three times the rate of spending. Compared with a year ago, construction goods prices were up 22.3 percent. The…
