US construction spending for May 0.9% versus 0.6% expected

<ul><li>Prior month 0.4% revised from 1.2% previously reported</li></ul><p>Total Construction:</p><ul><li>Construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,925.6 billion, a 0.9 percent increase from the revised April estimate of $1,909.0 billion.</li><li>The May figure is 2.4 percent higher than the May 2022 estimate of $1,880.9 billion.</li><li>In the first five months of 2023, construction spending totaled $740.8 billion, 2.9 percent higher than the same period in 2022, which saw $719.6 billion.</li></ul><p>Private Construction:</p><ul><li>Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,513.2 billion, a 1.1 percent increase from the revised April estimate of $1,497.2 billion.</li><li>Residential construction reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $857.4 billion in May, a 2.2 percent increase from the revised April estimate of $839.4 billion.</li><li>Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $655.8 billion in May, a 0.3 percent decrease from the revised April estimate of $657.8 billion.</li></ul><p>Public Construction:</p><ul><li>Public construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $412.4 billion in May, a 0.1 percent increase from the revised April estimate of $411.8 billion.</li><li>Educational construction remained virtually unchanged at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $87.7 billion.</li><li>Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $124.6 billion, a 0.4 percent decrease from the revised April estimate of $125.1 billion.</li></ul><p>The construction spending was higher than expectations for the month of May, but the revision was much worse than previously reported. Nevertheless, for the first 5 months, total construction spending is still up versus 2022 levels.</p>

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.