US constn spending up 0.2pc in April

US construction spending posted modest gains in April, driven by an uptick in home building and government construction that lifted total activity to the highest level in five years. Construction spending rose 0.2 per cent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $953.5 billion, the strongest performance since March 2009, the Commerce Department said on Monday. The April increase was lower than economists had expected. But the government revised March activity higher to a 0.6-per cent gain, up from an initial estimate of a 0.2-per cent increase. The small April improvement, combined with the strong gain in March, suggest that the construction industry is recovering from the harsh winter and will provide a boost to growth in the months ahead, according to a news agency.