Construction Spending Jumps 1.4% in August

blr-editor | October 3, 2011 | Comments (0)

August saw a slight uptick in construction spending

In an unexpected show of economic strength, construction spending in August rose by 1.4%, bucking the recent trend of negative economic numbers.

Construction spending came in at an annual rate of $799.1 billion, up 1.4% from July.

The Department of Commerce announced the number today, which is also 0.9% above August 2010.

In the first 8 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $511.4 billion, 3.0% below the $527.3 billion spent in the same period in 2010.

This number is not likely to spark expectations of a strong recovery, but may give some hope to those who believe the U.S. can muddle through a ‘soft patch’, as opposed to a new recession.

The main driver of the stock market in the short term however, are still Europe, Greece and the fate of the Eurozone, along with unemployment numbers.