U.S. construction spending ticks up in December

Investment in U.S. construction edged up by 0.2 percent in December, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, after a 0.6 percent lift in November.

Economists polled by Reuters expected on average an increase of 0.6 percent in December. Expenditures on private construction rose, with a particularly strong showing in the single-family segment, up 2.1 percent. That wasn’t enough however to offset a sharp downturn in public projects.