US construction spending highest in 7 years

U.S. construction spending in July climbed to its highest level in over seven years, the government said Tuesday, helped by an increase in the building of houses, factories, and power plants.

The Commerce Department reported that construction spending rose 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.08 trillion, the highest level since May 2008. The department also revised up the June increase in construction spending to 0.7 percent from 0.1 percent previously.

Construction of single-family houses advanced 2.1 percent in July. Factories rose 4.7 percent, and power facilities gained 2.1 percent. Spending on government building projects dropped 1 percent.

Total construction spending has risen 13.7 percent over the past year.