US construction spending dips in February

US construction spending dipped in February, led by a decline in public construction, particularly in power and water supply projects, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Total construction spending was at an annual rate of $967.2 billion, down 0.1 percent from January's revised pace of $967.9 billion.

The trend in construction spending has been moderately upward amid the economic recovery from the Great Recession. Year-over-year, spending was up 2.1 percent in February and for the first two months of the year increased 2.0 percent.

Private construction spending was up 0.2 percent in February, despite a decline in residential construction.

Public construction spending fell 0.8 percent, reflecting in part a 16.0 percent dive in power construction and a 9.0 percent drop in water projects.