U.S. construction declines 0.6% in November

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (Chinese media) -- U.S. construction spending dropped by 0.6 percent in November, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

The November drop was less than half of the 1.3 percent decline economists expected. Construction spending in October had been revised to a 0.4 percent decline from the originally reported drop of 1.2 percent.

In November, private builders cut their spending on residential construction by 4.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 328 billion dollars, the lowest since August 1999.

Construction spending by the government, meanwhile, increased by 1.4 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of322 billion dollars.

The once-sizzling U.S. housing market has slid into the worst slump in over two decades. Analysts believe that housing will keep falling until a record glut of unsold homes is reduced.