WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. construction spending fell in July from June by the largest amount in a year, weighed down by a big drop in spending on home improvement projects.
But spending on construction of single-family homes and apartments increased again, further evidence of a modest housing recovery.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that construction spending declined 0.9 percent in July. It followed three months of gains driven by increases in home and apartment construction.
The June decline left spending at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $834.4 billion. That's nearly 12 percent above a 12-year low hit in February 2011. Construction activity is roughly half of what economists consider to be healthy.