ANALYSIS:US July Construction Spending Down 0.6%; Homes +0.5%>

--Total Private Spending Declined 0.4%

--June Construction Rev Down To -1.4%; May Revised Up To +1.6%

By Sara Haire and Holly Stokes

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - Construction spending was down 0.6% in July, 

with a 0.4% decline in private construction and a larger 1.4% drop in 

public construction, data released by the Commerce Department Friday 

morning showed. 

     Analysts had expected construction spending to rise 0.5% after a 

negative 1.3% reading for June. With the latest data, June construction 

was revised down to a 1.4% decrease, while May spending was revised up 

to a 1.6% increase from the 0.3% increase previously reported. 

     Private residential construction spending rose 0.8% in the month, 

with new home building rising 0.5% based on an MNI calculation. 

Single-family building rose 0.8%, while multi-family building saw a 

reverse decline of 0.8%. Construction excluding new homes, which 

captures remodelling was up 1.4% and up 16.5% year-over-year.  

     Private nonresidential construction was down 1.9% in July. There 

were declines in all categories, with commercial posting the largest 

drop of 4.7%. 

     Public construction saw another sharp decrease of 1.4% in July, 

following a 4.4% drop in June. State and local government spending, the 

much larger portion of public construction, was down 1.4% after a 3.9% 

decrease in June, while Federal government construction saw a more 

moderate decline of 1.2% in July after a 9.8% fall in June. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$,MT$$$$]