US construction spending up in March less than expected

U.S. construction spending bounced back in March following a February beset by frigid cold and winter storms across large swaths of the country

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- U.S. construction spending bounced back in March following a February beset by frigid cold and winter storms across large swaths of the country. However, spending on construction projects rose just 0.2% in March, the Commerce Department said Monday, significantly less than the 1.7% jump economists had expected. That comes even as February's decline was revised downward, as was January's. Still,. through the first three months of the year, total construction spending of $328.3 billion is 4.5% ahead of where it was last year. Private construction continued to grow, up 0.7% from the previous month, with residential construction up 1.7%.