WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. construction spending surged in April, boosted by investment in nonresidential structures, but higher mortgage rates continued to depress single-family homebuilding.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday that construction spending jumped 1.2% after rising 0.3% in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending climbing 0.2%. Construction spending shot up 7.2% on a year-on-year basis in April.
Spending on private construction projects increased 1.3%. Outlays on private non-residential structures like gas and oil well drilling soared 2.4%.
Investment in residential construction rose 0.5%. A 0.8% drop in spending on single-family housing projects was offset by a 0.6% rise in outlays on multi-family housing projects.
Spending on public construction projects jumped 1.1%.
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(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)