U.S. construction spending slides in March

WASHINGTON ― The U.S. Commerce Department reported that construction spending in March declined by 0.9%, the first drop in four months, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.28 trillion. The decline followed increases of 0.7% in both January and February. Residential construction fell 1.8% to $500.9 billion, the lowest level since December 2016. It is expected to stabilize now that the Federal Reserve has moved away from previous plans to raise interest rates later in the year.