Construction spending up 0.3 percent in September

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Construction spending rose surprisingly in September, logging a 0.3 percent gain after the prior month was revised downward, government data on Wednesday showed.

The Commerce Department said construction spending increased to a $1.16 trillion seasonally adjusted annual rate in September after the August spending level was revised down to show a 0.2 percent decrease, first reported as a 0.2 percent gain.

Analysts polled by Reuters ahead of the report were expecting construction spending to fall 0.5 percent.

Still, private residential spending fell by 1.4 percent last month to a $511 billion annual rate, the 19th consecutive monthly decrease and the lowest annual rate since November 2003.

However, private nonresidential construction rose 1.5 percent to an all-time high.

Construction spending was down 0.8 percent from a year ago, reflecting the 16.8 percent drop in private residential spending during that time period.

For the month, public construction hit an all-time high.