US construction spending soars 1.2% in April

ISTANBUL

US construction spending soared 1.2% to $1,908.4 billion in April, according to the Commerce Department figures released Thursday.

Construction spending, one of the major indicators of well-being in the construction sector, came much higher than the market estimates of a 0.1% gain.

The figure for March was revised to $1,885 billion, up 0.3% from the previous month, showed the data.

Annually, April's reading was 7.2% above the figure from the same month last year, when it stood at $1,780.9 billion, the Commerce Department said.

Spending on private construction in April stood at $1,500.7 billion – 1.3% above the revised March figure of $1,481.6 billion.