Outlays for U.S. construction projects fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in December to $ 1.81 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
Wall Street was expecting construction spending to be flat.
Spending in November rose a revised 0.5% to $ 1.82 trillion, up from the prior estimate of a 0.2% rise.
Over the past year, construction spending is up 7.7%.
The total value of construction in 2022 was $ 1.79 trillion. That’s up 10.2% from the previous year.
Total private construction rose 0.4% in December. Private residential construction fell 0.3%, with single-family construction dropping by 2.3%. Private nonresidential spending fell by 0.5%.
Total public construction fell by 0.4%. Residential public construction fell by 0.5%, while nonresidential public construction also fell by 0.4% last month.
U.S. stocks DJIA, -0.78% SPX, -0.32% were down in early trading on Friday. The 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 3.494% was below 3.5%.