WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday construction spending in April jumped 1.3 percent to a record rate of $970.4 billion
Construction spending measures the dollar value of new construction activity on residential, nonresidential, and public projects.
Economists were expecting construction to rise 0.5 percent after rising 1.5 percent during March.
Analysts said trends in the construction data carry valuable clues for the stocks of home builders and large-scale construction contractors. Commodity prices such as lumber are also very sensitive to housing industry trends.
The report showed residential construction jumped 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $526.5 billion, after rising 1.4 percent during March.
Private construction spending, which includes construction of houses, office buildings, factories and hospitals, rose 1.2 percent.
Residential private construction rose 1.2 percent to an annual rate of $520.7 billion. Nonresidential private construction climbed 1.3 percent to a $219.2 billion annual rate.
Spending on public construction grew 1.7 percent to $230.5 billion. The category includes roads, sewer systems and schools.
Federal government spending on construction increased 7.9 percent, while state and local spending rose 1.2 percent.
