By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) – US construction spending rose 0.7% to $1,972.6 billion in July, according to the Commerce Department figures released Friday.
Construction spending, one of the major indicators of well-being in the construction sector, came higher than the market expectation of a 0.5% gain.
The figure for June was revised to $1,958.9 billion, up 0.6% from the previous month, the data showed.
Annually, the reading in July was 5.5% above the figure from the same month last year, when it stood at $1,869.3 billion, the Commerce Department said.
Spending on private construction in July stood at $1,548.9 billion – 1% above the revised June figure of $1,533.7 billion.