Another report today showed construction spending climbed almost three times more than forecast in October, reflecting broad-based gains that signal the industry is poised to make a bigger contribution to economic growth.
The 1.4 percent rise was the biggest since May and followed a 0.5 percent advance in September, the Commerce Department reported. The reading exceeded all 45 estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists, in which the median projection was for a 0.5 percent increase. Home construction jumped to the highest level since November 2008.